I Love the pun in the title. My beta reader thinks it's meh. I very nearly came to blows over that.
Also, after writing this I found out the voice actor for Hop Pop, Bill Farmer, also voices modern Goofy. So on my re-read to make sure I was still happy with this fic, I kept reading his lines in Goofy's voice. If I have to be cursed with this, then so do you, and that is the only reason I'm bringing it up. Suffer as I have!
It was beginning to get dark out, as Anne and the Planter family made their way past Quarreler's Pass, carefully making their way through the rocky terrain of the area. Hop Pop was steering Bessie, while Anne kept a lookout for a good place to pull over for the night, while Sprig and Polly, tired from their on foot trek and adventures through the path had turned in for the night, leaving only the sounds of crickets chirping as the sun's finally rays gave way to twilight.
Every once in a while, Anne would peek at Hop Pop out of the corner of her eyes, making sure he was alright. The old toad sported a bandage wrapped around his head, covering a small scratch he'd got after Anne kicked him out of his seat. Twice. Because he'd asked if she had a boyfriend.
It was really immature of her, but he just wouldn't shut up about it. He really did not take the silence of the open road well, and if he wasn't asking embarrassing personal questions, he was telling embarrassing personal stories.
She just… hadn't been comfortable opening up. She had every right to her privacy, but she still didn't need to kick him off the Fwagon to teach him that.
Besides, maybe it was time she talked to someone about this? Someone she trusted? Hop Pop was an honest frog, he could keep a secret if he wanted.
Taking her eyes off the road, she summoned up her courage and spoke, "Heya, HP? Sorry, about, uh, earlier."
He blinked, then chuckled good naturedly, "Oh, don't worry Anne. I was getting a little pushy. If you don't want to tell me about your boyfriend, if'n you got one, that's fine with me."
Well, he'd certainly given her an out, and she paused to consider it. She drummed her fingers against her knees, but decided against it. What the heck, he was already out here risking his life to help her, he might as well get to know the real her.
"Do you think you could keep a secret, Hop Pop?" She asked, just to be certain.
Hop Pop looked up from the reins, "of course! I love secrets. Like did you know that Loggle- You know what, never mind."
The smile he flashed her afterward clued her in that his "slip up" had just been a little joke, and that he was pulling her leg.
As much as Anne enjoyed the levity, she really wanted him to take this seriously, "I mean it, HP. You can't tell anyone, not even Sprig and Polly. This… I haven't even told my parents or anything…"
Hop Pop glanced over at her again, and with a pull on the reins he brought Bessie to a stop so that he could turn towards Anne, placing one hand over his heart, and raising the other one solemnly, "You have my word, Anne, that I won't utter a word of this to the kids if you don't want me to."
He paused, then added an addendum, "Well, unless it's information that puts their lives in mortal peril. But other than that, you have my word."
Anne smiled softly, she could accept that. "Alright. Well, I don't have a boyfriend. And I don't want a boyfriend."
Hop Pop raised a brow, taking the reins back in hand to get Bessie back on the move, "is that all? I guess you're just not at that age yet, but I didn't think that would be such a secret."
Anne face palmed, "No, what I mean is… Hop Pop. I'm gay."
He blinked, showing no reaction. Finally, "Well, I'm glad you're happy, Anne. I am too. No idea what that has to do with secrets, though."
Pulling at her hair in frustration, she tried again. "No, Hop Pop. I'm a lesbian! I don't like boys, I want to date other girls!"
She clamped a hand over her mouth as her words echoed through the canyon. The first time she'd ever said those words out loud, and half of Amphibia probably heard her. She suddenly felt very ill.
Again, Hop Pop blinked, reacting more to the volume of what she had said than the content of her words. Finally he nodded his head, "Thank you for sharing that with me Anne. I admit, I don't really understand, but it seems to be real important to ya."
Anne mellowed out in her seat, then sighed, "Do they like, not have that here, or something?"
Hop Pop shrugged, "Heck if I know. I'm gonna be straight with you Anne-"
Anne snorted despite herself, not that Hop Pop understood why.
"-I'm a small town frog. I don't know everything. I've been around the same eighty-sum people my entire life. I've hardly even left the patch of dirt I was born on, and even then it was to visit other, just as small, patches of dirt. This will be my first time in Newtopia, the big city! Can I say I've met anyone like you before? Not really. But that doesn't mean you're not alone, either."
He pondered for a moment, "Though, that might explain Toady and the Mayor, now that I think about it."
Anne shivered, "please don't put that image in my head, HP."
He chuckled, then carried on. "Now, this seems like a real big deal for you, so if you ever want to talk about it, I'm all ears."
"Thanks, Hop Pop. It's just, some people in my world would really freak out if I told them I liked girls. It's not as bad as it used to be, like when my parents or grandparents were young, but I'm still just a kid, I never wanted to deal with that kinda stuff! I have enough problems on my plate with my peers making fun of me for things I can help, I wasn't going to add that to the fire."
Hop Pop listened intently, "Well, that just ain't right in my book. You should never hate someone for what they can't help, or who they are."
"Exactly! Man, you really get me."
"So, I guess that means you don't have a girlfriend?" He pried, giving an innocent smile and hoping he wasn't kicked again.
Anne deflated, "No, no girlfriend. Not that I don't want one. But the person I've got my eye on is totally oblivious, and even if she wasn't I don't know if I'm ready to be out yet."
"'Out' must mean that everyone knows you're a… a girl liker, right?"
Anne laughed at his slip up, "Lesbian, HP. And yeah, that's what that means. I just came out to you."
"Well, I'm honored." Anne was a bit surprised to hear how sincere he was about that, but let him continue, "So, why don't you tell me about this girl you like, then?"
"I'll do you one better than that," Anne replied, digging into her pockets and pulling out the photograph of her and her best friends, showing it to Hop Pop.
He glanced at it, then back at her with an apprehensive look on his face, "Please tell me it's not Sasha?"
Anne scoffed, "No! I mean, yeah, she's really pretty, and she's athletic, and looks great in a cheerleader outfit, but we're just friends. No, I'm talking about Marcy."
She pointed to the picture of the dark haired girl. "Marcy is like, my oldest friend. We've known each other since around Preschool. Or maybe Kindergarten? I dunno, we were so small I can't really remember a time without her around."
"Ah, so like Sprig and Ivy?" Hop Pop put together, understanding from dealing with his Grandson's experiences.
Anne smiled and nodded her head in agreement, "Yeah, like Sprig and Ivy. We've known each other since we were the human equivalent of tadpoles, in our little buckets."
Hop Pop shivered, a disturbed image in his head, "Anne, I'm gonna have to ask you to stop with that comparison. The idea of you just being a head in a bucket is incredibly nauseating."
Anne got his point, and got back on track, "Anyway, Marcy is great! She's really smart, and pretty, kind and funny! She's really into fantasy adventure stuff, and would drag me and Sasha into these really long, convoluted Cave and Cavern games. I thought the game was so boring, but I'd go play it just to hang out with her some more-"
She blushed, suddenly self conscious that she was rambling about someone she liked. She'd never got the chance to do that before back home. Rubbing the back of her head, she tried to wrap it up to save herself some embarrassment. "But she's totally oblivious to the world around her, not just my crush. I'm pretty sure she'd be dead without me watching over her back home."
"If you feel the way you do, why not just tell her? Surely if she's your friend, she won't mind that you're a thespian. Heck, she might even like you back!" Hop Pop said that last bit in a knowing tone, and elbowed her in between the ribs.
Anne thought to all the shipping charts, art and fanfics Marcy had shown her over the years. A lot of it had been really gay. Excessively gay. And Anne was saying that as a lesbian. To be fair, some of that stuff had really helped Anne accept and become comfortable with her own sexuality. It was safe to say Marcy really wouldn't object if she found out.
That still didn't mean she'd ever agree to date Anne, but at least if she ever made a fool of herself by asking Marcy out, she'd probably still want to stay friends. "I guess she wouldn't mind. I don't think she's a lesbian like me, though. Too many posters of bishounen guys on her wall for that. She could be bisexual though?"
"A what now?"
"Oh, yeah, you're new to this." And kept forgetting that, so used to everyone understanding the concept back home. She decided to do her best to explain, "Gayness is like a spectrum. Lots of different colors to the rainbow, you know? Different people like different… people. Ugh, not the best example. Let me start over."
"You've got your homosexuals. That's basically when a guy likes another dude, but technically covers lesbians, like me. Bisexuals like both. And Pansexuals-"
"They want to do what with my kitchenware?!" Hop Pop loudly interrupted, causing the human to roll her eyes.
"-like everyone, and everything in between." Anne finished, giving the frog a deadpan expression.
Hop Pop's brow scrunched up as he tried to commit all this new information to memory, which wasn't an easy task while trying to drive at night at the same time.
"Okay, let me make sure I got all that straight-" another snort from Anne, making Hop Pop glare at her, "there are Blightsexuals, pansexuals, thesp- lesbians, excuse me, and… hockeysexuals?"
"We mostly just call those Canadians."
"They sound nice."
"They are!"
Before either of them could continue the conversation, Anne sat up straight and squinted her eyes. Sure enough, off in the distance was a subtle glow on the horizon, and along with it some form of civilization. Probably some kind of Truck Stop, like the one Polly was left at a week or so back. "There's a place coming up, HP, we should stop there for the night."
The old frog nodded in agreement, the lack of sleep starting to get to him as he became aware of just how tired his eyes were. "Right you are, Anne. I'll pull in once we get there."
The two sat in a comfortable silence for the next few minutes, the long day catching up to them. Once they had pulled in, and Hop Pop gave Bessie assurances they weren't going any farther for the night, she tucked herself into her shell and was sound asleep before either Anne or Hop Pop had dismounted from the cabin.
Anne yawned loudly, ready for a night of sleep. As she laid her hand on the handle of the Fwagon, she realized that despite her want of rest, she felt like a weight had been lifted off her chest. "Hey, HP? Thanks for listening to me tonight. It felt good to be able to let my feelings out and be heard for once."
He patted her back with his webbed hands, "Anytime, Anne. And if you ever want to open up with anyone else, I'm sure Sprig and Polly will be just as understanding, and willing to listen and support you. No pressure to tell them if you don't want to, of course. My lips are sealed."
Anne smiled, she'd keep that in mind. For now, she would sleep.
Within a few days of coming out to Hop Pop, they had arrived in Newtopia, and reunited with Marcy. Anne hadn't felt more relieved in her life to know her clumsy friend was safe, and had even become a butt kicking ranger who blew up giant ants.
Anne had expected Hop Pop to be… well, unsubtle. To give her a push and a shove to say something to Marcy about how she felt. For him to give her knowing looks. Maybe even suggest something to Marcy herself. Instead, the old frog had been surprisingly restrained, keeping his word that what Anne had said would remain an absolute secret.
She was glad her new family seemed to like Marcy, at least. Even Sprig came around eventually. Hop Pop had even offered to adopt her like he had Anne, though mostly because of all the nice things she had said about farmers being like, the coolest.
The best part about all of this, outside of knowing Marcy was safe, was getting to hold her hand again. Platonically. They held hands platonically while they caught up on their lives. Anne felt incredibly sweaty just thinking about it. Maybe a little embarrassed as well, though mostly from the dorky pose they had done when they declared they'd find Sasha and get back home together.
After meeting the King, discussing the Music Box, and parting ways with Marcy so they could check into their hotel, Anne was stopped by Hop Pop in the hallway, a few doors down from their room.
"Sprig, Polly, you two go on ahead, I need to talk with Anne about something." He handed them their room key, but the two immediately began to protest.
"Wait, why do we have to go ahead! What are you guys gonna talk about?" Sprig asked curiously.
"Yeah, we wanna know!" Polly demanded, yanking on Hop Pop's trouser leg with her stumpy hands.
Hop Pop put his foot down, "That's none of your business, now go. I'm sure there will be chocolates on the pillows in a place this fancy, you wouldn't want to miss out now, would you?"
The frog and pollywog glanced at each other for a moment, then took off running and bouncing as fast as they could, hollering for candy.
"Keep it down you two, this is a high society kinda place!" Hop Pop yelled at them as they departed, deaf to the irony.
Hop Pop, now alone with Anne, took her hand in his. "Now, Anne. I'm sure you're feeling a lot of things, now that you got to see your crush again. And I don't wanna put any pressure on you, or rush you to do something you don't wanna do, but-"
He took in a huge gasp of air, and began to wail, "You've got to marry that girl, Anne! She's PERFECT! She's so polite, and kind, and she thinks farmers are the backbone of society! Plus, she's friends with the King! The family would be set for life!"
Anne felt absolutely mortified as she glanced around, making sure no one was in earshot. She suddenly realized this must have been exactly what she'd put Sprig through when she tried setting him up with Ivy before he realized his feelings for her, and she was glad to realize just how much she'd grown since then, because this was frankly embarrassing.
She settled on laughing nervously, "I'm glad you approve of her so much, HP, but maybe keep it down?"
He realized they were still in a public place, and reigned in his enthusiasm, or at least keep his voice down while he continued to ramble, "Sorry, Anne, I'm just so darn excited for you! Your first crush, and she's perfect! She'll fit right in with our family, I just know it."
Flustered over the very idea of getting married, because she was thirteen, Anne thought it best to get those ideas out of her adopted Granddad's head. "Er, Thanks, Hop Pop. Please tell me you're not planning on setting up one of those courtship dances for us?"
"Don't you worry, I won't! But if you change your mind, I could!" He paused, and then as if he'd completely forgotten Anne's displeasure over the idea added, "I should! It'll be great Anne, you could both wear matching dresses. I'm sure something in this town will fit you, Newts are much taller than frogs after all-"
Of all the horrifying scenarios she imagined when she thought about coming out to the people she loved, this was about the opposite of everything she had expected. Maybe there was such a thing as too much acceptance?
She wished she had a Fwagon to kick him off of right about now.
This is dedicated to my Grandma, who has been a near lifelong ally to the gay community. She's friggin' 87 years old, too. I say near lifelong, because she had no idea gay people existed until she was in her 30s. That's what inspired me to make this story, because Hop Pop is such an accepting old timer, he took in a 'monster' from another world. He wouldn't give a damn if Anne was Gay in canon, and would be her biggest supporter.
Before sitting down to write this, I actually always wrote from the assumption that Anne was bisexual, and Marcy was a lesbian, but now that I've gone through a rewatch of the show, I'm closer to seeing them like I wrote here. Meanwhile, I'm convinced Sasha is bi/pan, but thinks she's straight, and most of her story arc can be explained as her being in denial about her feelings. She went to all the effort to make posters of Boys for her room in Toad Tower, which is a lot of effort if she wasn't actually interested in them.
That has been the character study section of the fic. Thanks for listening, I love you, bye bye.
