Requested by anon: El sees that Joyce is sad (because of Bob's death) and she tells that she loves her and Hop does too and that she's not alone.
Comforting Joyce
Sometimes, she caught Joyce staring off in the distance while in the midst of doing making for her hot chocolate or cleaning the table. Other times, El heard her let out of a small sigh whenever she glanced at the empty chair on the kitchen table or at the red mug on the counter that nobody seemed to use.
Most of the time though, El noticed the sadness in Joyce's eyes and the way she seemed a little lost and lonely. She knew what it is like to be lonely and alone. When Papa kept her in that small room in the lab for hours and days and again, when Hopper kept her in the cabin with all those rules, she had no one to talk to whenever he left for work but now….
Now she was allowed visits at the cabin from her friends including Max whom she had come to like. Now she was allowed to have sleepovers at the Byers when Hopper had to work nights.
She was not so lonely anymore but still, she hadn't forgotten what it was like to feel desolate and she didn't want the same for Joyce.
She liked Joyce. She always had nice things to say to her, she always had something to feed her and she gave her warm hugs. But, El liked it better when Joyce smiles because it soften her features and it made her look pretty, and Hopper seemed to smile a lot more when Joyce is smiling, which was also something that El liked.
El liked to see Hopper relaxed and enjoying himself, and that happened often when he was with Will's mother.
"Why are you sad?" El asked one evening as she stood next to Joyce, drying dishes that the older woman had washed.
"I'm – I'm not, sweetheart."
That smile was forced. It didn't make Joyce's eyes sparkled as it did when Hopper told that stupid joke yesterday.
"Friends don't lie."
"Well, I'm not your friend."
El winced. That hurt. She thought Joyce was her friend but … maybe she was wrong. Maybe adults are not supposed to be your friend.
"I'm your…." Joyce paused, thinking of the right word to use. "I'm – "
"Like my mama?" El ventured a guess. All the adult female she had met seemed to be in that capacity. Mrs Wheeler is Mike's mum and Joyce is Will's mum. "Or – Or like my Aunt Becky?"
"Well… " Joyce put away the last plate in the cupboard. "It doesn't matter. Just know that you are my girl, mine. That you can come to me with anything, anything at all. Okay?"
El smiled when Joyce patted her cheek and brushed back the curls falling in her eyes.
"It means you love me, like you love Will and Jonathan."
"Yes," Joyce kissed her forehead. "I do, sweetheart."
"I love you, too," El replied, looking at her with such intensity. "Hopper, too. We both love you."
It occurred to her then that she might have said something wrong because Joyce looked the way Mike did when he tried the sour candy Dustin gave him two weeks ago. Her face scrunched, in confusion and surprise.
"Hopper?"
"Yes," El nodded and felt the need to reiterate herself with a, "Hopper and me. We love you like you love us."
There was a pause, a heartbeat where nobody said anything.
"So please don't be sad," El said, reaching out to touch her hand. "We're always here. You're not alone. When Jonathan and Will are at school and being alone makes you sad, you can always watch television with me at the cabin. You know the secret knock."
Joyce laughed and El thought it was a nice sound to hear.
"I need to have a word with Hopper about what you're watching. It will rot your brain."
"It wouldn't," she countered smugly. "I get to learn new words."
With that, El offered another smile. She was about to leave the kitchen to join the others when she felt Joyce's hand on her shoulder.
"Jane," Joyce's voice was gentle and soft. "I'm glad you're here. And Hopper too, of course. I'm happy that you're both around a lot more nowadays."
"Saw you and the kid talking," Hopper commented when Joyce finally joined him outside on the porch for a smoke. "Anything interesting?"
Taking a long drag from the cigarette they were sharing, Joyce said with a smile, "She's a good kid, Hop. You're lucky to have her."
"Yeah, I am," Hopper chuckled. "Hey, you have her too on pizza and movie nights, and nights when I have long shifts. Guess we're both lucky."
