#mr.hopchuy

[grass-salad]

The Hop of my Heart - an Amphibia Fanfic

Mr.Boonchuy sat in his favourite lawn chair out in the garden. His leg was wrapped up in a cast and gently resting on a stoop. The sun was setting, leaving a warm glow on the surrounding remains of the city that once had stood here. It had been two weeks since Polly turned into Mecha-Polly and destroyed a good chunk of L.A using a gigantic robot suit made from the scraps of the Boonchuy family car. Together with the Planters they had been able to stop her before she took her chaos into the rest of California. She was now meant to face the court for her various war crimes committed to the citizens of Los Angeles.

From the cooler Mr.Boonchuy pulled out a beer. It was the third one this evening. He cracked it open and took a big chug. He knew he should be inside with his family and their guests, spending time with them like a good father. But he couldn't. No, he couldn't face them right now, and especially not…

Hop Pop.

He just couldn't make sense of the events that transpired during the battle against Mecha-Polly. He leaned back against the lawn chair and closed his eyes. The memories of that day flooded back to him in an instant, as if he couldn't let them go.

Building being torn apart by gigantic metal claws. Car alarms were going off all around the city, and the cars that were silent had gone up in flames that emitted a dark smoke. The roads were covered in debris and large cracks that tore the concrete apart like paper. Mr. Boonchuy was running down the street. He knew this was dangerous but he had to make sure his daughter Anne would be safe. She had gone into her mega evolution and intended to fight Mecha-Polly all on her own in 1v1 combat.

"Anne!" Mr.Boonchuy cried out to his daughter who was standing ontop a partly destroyed car. 

She turned around, surprised. "Dad! What are you doing here? You need to get back to safety!" Her hair was giving off a strong blue glow and gently waving in the wind.

"Anne, I can't let you fight this battle alone!" Mr.Boonchuy pleaded. "Please let me help you!"

Anne shook her head. "No, dad. I need to do this alone." 

Before Mr.Boonchuy could utter another word Anne leaped into the air toward one of the destroyed buildings and parkoured her way up onto higher grounds to get an even playing ground for her battle with Mecha-Polly.

"Anne!" Mr.Boonchuy cried out, but it was too late. She was out of his field of vision. There was nothing he could do now to protect Anne, so the best course of action would be to find a place to hide. He looked around the area quickly for some shelter. There was a subway tunnel across the street from, if he got in there he would be relatively safe from the chaos above.

He ran towards the subway tunnel, but suddenly a loud roar echoed. It was Mecha-Polly. Mr.Boonchuy turned his head and in the distance down the street he saw her. Luckily Mecha-Polly hadn't seen him. She was too busy fighting Mega Anne. Mr.Boonchuy couldn't take his eyes off of them. He knew he had to get to safety but his feet refused to move. He saw how Mecha-Polly picked up a car from the ground as if it was a toy, and with a loud roar she threw it towards Mega Anne 

No! 

Mega Anne swiftly dodged the flying car and threw a punch at Mecha-Polly who crashed into a building.

But before Mr.Boonchuy could breathe a sigh of relief he noticed that the car was coming right for him! He leaped for the subway tunnel and then…

Everything went dark.

Mr.Boonchuy didn't know how long he had been out, but it couldn't have been more than a few seconds. His head was pounding and he could feel a burning pain on his forearms. But that was nothing to the pain in his left legs. It was so intense he thought he was going to pass out again. He carefully opened his eyes and blinked a few times to avoid the dust that was setting around him. He looked down in horror at his leg. It had been pinned under the car and blood was starting to pool. When he tried to pull his leg out he felt an even worse pain shoot through him. His vision went dark again for a short moment.

Was this it? Is this how he was going to die trapped under a car? He tried to call out for help but his voice was weak and could barely make a sound. "Anne…" He whispered. But it was no use, she would never hear him. The sound around him started to disappear and was replaced by a ringing sound inside his ears. He could feel the life fade from his body.

Suddenly he felt someone touch his shoulder. Mr.Boonchuy tried to open his eyes as best he could and in front of him he saw an orange silhouette of someone.

Could it be?

He blinked a few times and the figure came into focus. It was Hop Pop! He saw the frog's lips move but he couldn't make out the words he was saying.

"Hop Pop…" Mr.Boonchuy whispered out. He reached out for Hop Pop's hand and the old frog grabbed it tightly. It was slimy, but in this moment Mr.Boonchuy didn't care. He was just happy to have a familiar face next to him.

Hop Pop said something again, but still the words were impossible to make out. He let go of Mr.Boonchuy's hand and took a few steps back.

No! Please come back…

To Mr.Boonchuy's surprise Hop Pop ripped his shirt and jacket off revealing just how shredded the old frog was. He had an eight pack and biceps that would've made Arnold Schwarzenegger blush during his days as a bodybuilder. Mr.Boonchuy widened his eyes. Never had he thought that Hop Pop looked like that under his suit.

With his muscular arms Hop Pop grabbed the car with ease and threw it to the side. Mr.Boonchuy took a deep breath in relief as he felt the pressure on his leg elevate. It still hurt of course but it helped a great deal with his comfort. In a second Hop Pop was back at his side. "Mr.Boonchuy, are you able to lean on me for support?" The frog croaked.

Mr.Boonchuy tried to get off the ground but it was no use and he fell back down again, his leg hurt too much. But even if he tried to fight through the pain his leg would probably give in. "I…I can't…" He groaned.

"That is no problem." Hop Pop said. "I'll just carry you." He lifted Mr.Boonchuy off the ground with great care.

This is where the memory of the event started to get blurry. All Mr.Boonchuy could remember was how safe he felt in Hop Pop's strong arms as he carried him across the city like he was his bride.

Mr.Boonchuy opened his eyes and he was back in the family backyard again. His chest tightened. The image of Hop Pop standing heroically among the rubble of the city with his slime covered abs glistening in the light of the fires. He just couldn't stop thinking of it.

But it's normal! It's perfectly normal for a man to admire a frog's excellent physique. And an excellent physic it was. Anyone would've done the same if they had been in Mr.Boonchuy's place.

However, Mr.Boonchuy knew that it wasn't just his bulging muscles that he was thinking about, but also those beautiful frog eyes that looked upon with such kindness. And that gentle voice and its reassuring words. He knew it wasn't appropriate to think of Hop Pop in such a way. He was a frog! And Mr.Boonchuy was a man with a wife and kid. Even if there was more to his feelings for the elderly frog it would never even work out. Mr.Boonchuy sighed and took another shot from the beer.

He heard the door open behind him. Without turning to look at who it was he closed his eyes shut tightly. Please be my wife or Anne, please be them and not…

"Good evening Mr.Boonchuy!" The familiar sound of the warm voice croaked.

God damn it. Mr.Boonchuy thought to himself. Why did it have to be him?

Hop Pop came and sat in the lawn chair next to Mr.Boonchuy. "May I have one?" He asked and pointed towards the beer cooler.

"Sure," Mr.Boonchuy mumbled as he leaned back into the lawn chair. In a weird way he was happy that it had been Hop Pop that joined him outside.

Hop Pop opened the can and drank the entire thing in almost one gulp. "Ah, nothing better than a cold beer after a long day, right?"

Mr.Boonchuy nods. "You're not wrong." He starts picking at the edge of the can. "There is this thing I've been wondering about you, Hop Pop."

"Yeah? What's that?"

"Do you have a wife back in Amphibia?"

Hop Pop thinks for a moment as hee looks off into the distance. "Well, I don't have a wife. But I do have a lovely lady friend named Sylvia." 

Mr.Boonchuy feels his heart drop. It's no surprise that someone like Hop Pop is spoken for, so why is he so surprised to hear about this Sylivia lady? "Are you two going to get frog married?"

"Well, um…" Hop Pop begins. "I'm not really sure."

"Why's that?" 

"You see, I don't like being tied down by marriage and such. I'm not really the one frog kind of guy if you get why I mean." Hop Pop explains. It almost looks like he's blushing, but it's hard to tell on account of the orange skin.

Mr.Boonchuy feels his heart starting to race. "I understand." He says.

"I'm glad you do." Hop Pop smiles.

And that smile. That smile makes all the blood rush into Mr.Boonchuy's face. You could fry an egg on his forehead.

"Ah, it's getting late. I should probably go tuck Sprig into bed." Hop Pop croaks as he Hop out of the lawn chair.

"Hop Pop wait!" Mr.Boonchuy places his hand on Hop Pop's shoulder. He can feel his muscles on his shirt. "Do you, erm…."

"Do I what?"

"Do you…" Mr.Boonchuy tries his hardest to get the words out. "Do you want to sign my cast?"

Hop Pop chuckles. "Of course, buddy!" He pulls out a red pen out of his breast pocket and starts scribbling his name on the cast. Mr.Boonchuy feels the vibrations from the pen scraping against the rough surface in his leg.

When he's done he puts the pen back into his pocket. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight, Mr.Boonchuy!" He makes his way back into the house and Mr.Boonchuy watches him the entire way. But before closing the door Hop Pop gives him a smile again.

Mr.Boonchuy sighs and leans back into the chair again. He's a fool for thinking that anything could ever happen between him and Hop Pop. Why does he feel this way to begin with? Mr.Boonchuy knew he still loved his wife dearly. Could a man really love more than just one person? Even a frog?

He looks down at his cast and sees where Hop Pop has put his elegant signature. But there is something else that catches his eye. Just under the name he had drawn a little shape.

A little heart.