The smell of pork chops woke Joyce from her medicated coma. Reaching out with her other senses, she heard Hopper's heartbeat beneath her and felt his hand on her ass cheek. The realization of this brought a smile to her lips and hesitantly, she opened her eyes. The living room was dark, only a single beam of light from the hallway touching the rug.
Hopper stirred under Joyce's weight. He felt her ass in his palm and quickly moved his hand up to her lower back. As usual when he first wakes up, he was already hard and in seconds, Joyce would be feeling him pressing against her stomach.
"Happy to see me Hop?" She whispered. Reaching between their bodies, Joyce ran her hand over his length, knowing good and damn well he didn't have boxers on under his sweatpants.
"Joyce…" He warned. Not trusting himself or her after finding out what had really happened with Travis. It wasn't so much he didn't really trust her, he just wanted to make sure she wasn't suffering from some sort of PTSD.
"Yes Hopper?"
Footsteps could be heard coming from the hallway and both teenagers acted as if they were still asleep. Light flooded the living room as Mary flipped the switch on the wall.
"Kids, time to wake up, dinners ready!" She calls cheerfully. Hopper sat up first, nearly dropping Joyce into the floor in his haste.
"Shit sorry Joyce."
"Jim watch your language in the house." Mary scolded before turning on her heel and walking out of the living room.
Joyce righted herself and glared at Hopper.
"What was that?" She grumbled, putting her hands on her hips.
"Nothing, just starving is all." Hopper lied. He didn't want to bring up the rape attempt right before dinner. Joyce didn't eat enough as it is. "Come on, let's go wash up."
"Did I do something wrong?" Joyce questioned, trying to calm the uneasiness that's starting to overwhelm her body.
"No Joy, we're fine. I'm just a little cranky and hungry is all. You've done nothing, I promise we're good." Hopper takes his hand and threads his fingers through hers.
"Now come on, I feel like I could eat a whole cow by myself."
-
The kitchen is slightly smokey when Joyce and Hopper enter. Mary is placing the last few bowls on the kitchen table, while Greg places silverware at everyone's seat.
"Is there anything I can help with Mary?" Joyce questions standing off from Hopper who is still washing his hands at the kitchen sink.
"No dear, everything is ready, you just sit right on down." Mary says as she sits in front of the mashed potatoes. Joyce complies and takes a seat to her left. Once the men have found their seats, Mary begins to pass around the night's sides which consist of mashed potatoes, corn, and green beans. The table is weirdly quiet. Neither Joyce or Hopper saying anything.
"So… when did this happen?" Mary broke the silence, pointing with her butter knife between Hopper and Joyce. Hopper didn't miss the smile that broke out on Joyce's face. Looking down at his watch, he did some quick calculations before looking back at his mother.
"About twenty six hours ago." He moved his hand to meet Joyce's across the table. Noticing the blush that was covering her cheeks.
"Well it's about damn time! I thought the two of you would be out of college before you finally made it official." Greg laughed, bringing his glass of sweet tea in the air in a quick toast.
"To Joyce and Jim. The kids who should have been dating for six years finally admit their feelings."
"Dad!" Hopper groans, hiding his face in the hand that wasn't currently wrapped in Joyce's.
"Ahh come on Jim, we all knew you liked her, I remember that one time you fell asleep on the couch and-"
"Mom no! Can we please not do this? Yes, Joyce and I are dating, it's not that big of a deal." Hopper yells, stabbing his mac and cheese with his fork.
"Not a big deal? What do you mean, you two have been in love with each other for years and it's all finally all coming together!" Mary claps her hands together in front of her. "Why the next thing you know, you two will be getting married and I'll have four grand babies and-"
"Four?"
"Grand babies?" Joyce and Hopper both began to shovel food into their mouths, not caring that they were making a mess or missing their mouths completely in a hurry to be away from his parents. Both teens cleared their plate in record time and stood to place them in the sink.
"I'm still pretty tired guys, I think I'm going to go take a shower and go to bed if that's okay?" Joyce announced, not waiting for an answer before bounding up the stairs.
"Yeah...I um… I need to clean out my book bag or something." Hopper called over his shoulder, practically running up the steps after Joyce. Greg and Mary were able to contain their laughter long enough for the kids to get up the stairs before they broke out laughing, both of them gasping for air.
"Well at least we get a quiet evening alone to watch Gunsmoke."
The sound of running water filled the upstairs hallway. Hopper knew Joyce felt just as awkward as he did, if not more. They had both expected some joking from his parents, but nothing like that. After fiddling around in his room for a few minutes, he decided to go brush his teeth. Knocking gently on the bathroom door he let himself in. Steam had already fogged the mirror. How Joyce could stand the water being that hot was a mystery to him.
"I'm going to brush my teeth real quick Joy, then ill be out of here." He said toward the curtain and walked over to the sink.
"You're fine Hop I'll be here for a few more minutes at least."
Hopper reached for his toothbrush only to find it missing. Looking around the small sink, it was nowhere to be found.
"Hey Joy, have you seen my toothbrush?" He questioned, double checking the counter behind him.
"You mean this one?" She replied, peeking out from behind the shower curtain, his red toothbrush in her hand.
"What in the hell are you doing with it?" He reached for her hand, only for her to pull it back into the shower.
"If you want it you're going to have to come get it Hop." She teased before closing the curtain and disappearing back into the shower. Sighing, Hopper slid his shirt up and over his head. Walking over to the curtain he cleared his throat.
"I just want to brush my teeth."
"And you can, as soon as you have your toothbrush." She giggled.
Knowing he was going to regret this, Hopper reached his hand just behind the curtain and motioned for her to hand it over.
"Come on Joyce, give it." He complained.
"Just reach a little further Hop and you can have it." She called. Reaching further, his hand came in contact with her warm skin. "Holy shit your hands are cold! Why don't you come warm them up?"
He feels the stream of the shower flow onto him more, soaking him up to his forearm. Pulling his hand back in frustration when she still refused to comply, Hopper went to the sink, grabbed the mouth wash and did a quick rinse before going to his bedroom. Sliding off his sweatpants, he let them fall to the floor and pulled on a pair of boxers, then climbed into bed. He heard the water in the shower turn off and allowed himself a few moments of calm before the storm he knew was brewing.
"Goodnight Mary, Goodnight Greg." Joyce called, then stepped into Hopper's room and quietly closed the door. Hopper watched as she walked to the far side of the room in nothing but a blue and white striped towel. She stopped at the dresser and opened the top drawer, pulling out a pair of panties. Looking over her shoulder, her eyes met with his and he huffed, rolling on his other side to allow her some privacy. He heard the sound of her footsteps going to turn off the light before she joined him under the covers. Her cold hand wrapped around his torso as she snuggled into his back.
"Are you going to tell me what I did to make you so angry?" She whispered into his shoulders. He's quiet for a second, allowing the annoyance that had been grating on him to ease slightly. Rolling over, Hopper faced her and adjusted the blanket as he settled back into the mattress.
"Why didn't you tell me?" He questions, pulling away from her hand as it attempted to touch his face, not missing the hurt in her eyes. Hopper rolled to lay on his back, not sure if he could do this.
"Why didn't I tell you what Hop? I'm so lost right now."
"Why didn't you tell me that Travis tried to rape you that night?" He spits out the words venomously. Just the thought of that happening was making his blood boil. "I thought you trusted me with everything Joyce. For fucks sake, you told me when he was beating you, but now all of a sudden you can't tell me this? I thought you trusted me more than that." His voice rose a few octaves below yelling.
When his question is met with silence, Hopper finally breaks and looks over at her and his anger immediately fades when he sees tears rimming her eyes.
"Joyce I'm not mad at you, I'm just upset that you didn't trust me enough to tell me." He huffed, reaching out to wipe a tear away with his thumb. He quickly pulls back when he sees her flinch.
"I'm not going to hit you..." He says moving his hand to her hip.
"I know Hop...it's just a reflex. I'm sorry." She whispers before moving against his chest and placing her head on his sternum.
"I didn't tell you because I was afraid." She admits, not caring that her tears were falling now.
"Joy why would you be afraid to tell me anything?"
"I was afraid that you wouldn't want me anymore if you knew that another guy had tried to touch me. I thought you would think that I was damaged goods or something. I would be devastated if you didn't want me because of something he did." She lets out in a rush.
Hopper instantly feels guilty for letting his anger get the better of him and pulls her close, rubbing circle's into the small of her back.
"Nothing in this world is ever going to make me stop loving you. You're mine Joy, and that's never going to change." He kisses the top of her head, hoping she knows his telling the truth.
"I'm afraid that you're going to come to your senses one day and see me the way everyone else does."
"I see you just fine honey. You're kind, sweet, beautiful, and the strongest woman I know. Why on earth would I want to change how I see you, when all I see are remarkable things?"
He feels her smile against him and her fingers start running through the hair on his chest. The sensation is making his skin erupt in goosebumps.
"Joy come on, you know what that does to me." He quietly moans.
"That's why I'm doing it." She giggles, placing a kiss on his collar bone. She sits up and pushes both of his shoulders into the mattress. Before he grasps what's going on, she's on top of him straddling his thighs.
"What are you doing? My parents are right down the hall..."
"What I've been trying to do all evening but you've been ignoring me." Leaning forward, Joyce gently pulls on his hair and forces his head back to expose his neck, a favorite spot of hers. She kisses his pulse point, making him moan.
Hopper moves his hands to her hips and digs his fingers into the soft fabric of her night shirt, already feeling his cock hardening. With nothing but two thin layers of cotton between him and her, it's no wonder all the blood in his body is running south. Joyce shifts on top of him and grinds against his erection, trying to satisfy her own selfish needs. When he moves his hand from her hip and reaches for the hem of her shirt, her hands come down on top of his, stopping him. Her body has stopped moving and she's become tense.
"Why have you been avoiding me all evening?" Joyce questions as she narrowed her eyes down at him. She didn't miss when he let out an aggravated sigh.
"I didn't know if you really wanted to do stuff with me or if it was just some side effect of the attempted rape. Shit Joy, I've never dealt with anything like this before and I don't want to do anything that's going to jeopardize us."
"So instead of just talking with me, you ignore me all night and make me feel like shit?"
"I wasn't trying to ignore you Joyce. I just hadn't had a chance to talk with you about the situation. Linda brought it up along with a migraine, so I haven't had an opportunity to talk to you."
"I guess you're right." Joyce mumbles and looks at the clock, Hopper notices her eyes widen. "Fuck it's already after one, we're going to feel like crap tomorrow." She states. Climbing off of him to curl up on her side, leaving Hopper in a state of confusion.
"Umm Joy? You going to finish what you stated here?" Pointing downtown at his erection, he watches as Joyce rolls over, places a kiss on his cheek and turns the bedside lamp off.
"You'll be okay in a few minutes. Just think of goats, or old ladies or something." With that, Joyce places her arm under her pillow and attempts to fall asleep.
Hopper's alarm clock began to chime at six forty five sharp. He slapped at his bedside table, hoping he hit the snooze button. Failing, he sat up and turned it off completely and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, his gaze falling on Joyce's sleeping form. How the hell she slept through that loud ass alarm he would never know. Reaching over, he gave her a gentle shake.
"Joyce come on, today's the day you rejoin society." He called, trying his best to not scare her.
"Ugh, I don't wanna." Her muffled voice called back.
"Well you don't have a choice. Come on, you don't want to be late on your first day back." Hopper stood and stretched, before he made his way to his closet. Rifling through his various shirts, he finally narrowed his choice down to two.
"What color flannel should I wear today Joyce? Red, or Orange?"
Hopper turned to find Joyce finally sitting up in bed, her hair looked like a bird had slept in it and he couldn't help but laugh, not caring that she was giving him the stink eye.
"The orange one looks better on you , but that's just what I think." She replied, raising her arms above her head to stretch. Hopper did his best to ignore how her shirt rode up and revealed the soft skin of her stomach. Turning back to his closet, he hung up the red flannel and pulled the orange one over his shoulders.
"I'll meet you downstairs." He calls over his shoulder to her as she climbs out of bed.
"Okay, I'll be down in a few minutes." Joyce stands, her night shirt barely covering her ass. Hopper shook his head and walked out the door. The last thing he needed was to get a hard on before going to the kitchen with his mom. Walking down the steps, he found Mary in her usual spot at the table. The December edition of the Hawkins Monthly in her hands.
"Morning mom." Hopper said as he sat down across from her, piling a plate full of bacon and pancakes. She really did spoil them.
"Morning honey, did you sleep okay last night?" Mary questioned, not looking up from her magazine.
"Yeah, I was pretty tired even though I slept most of the afternoon." He comments, pouring syrup on his plate. Joyce's footsteps can be heard from the staircase before she finally came into the kitchen.
"Good Morning Mary." Joyce greets, pulling up a seat next to Hopper as she reached for the orange juice.
"Good Morning, sleep well?"
"Yes ma'am. It feels like all I've done the past few days is sleep." Taking a bite of her pancakes, Joyce looked over to Hopper.
"Yeah, having a migraine will do that to you. So will being under stress. You really get sleep deprived when you have a kid. You'd do anything in the world to get them to go to sleep, then you worry when they're sleeping that they'll stop breathing, so you don't sleep at all." Mary explains..
"You don't have to worry about that happening mom, just because we're dating doesn't mean we're going to do anything else. I don't even know if I want to have kids, matter less if Joyce wants them or not." Hopper replies, finishing his breakfast. Looking down at his watch, he stood and placed his plate in the sink.
"You about finished Joyce? We need to get going so were not late."
"Yeah, I'm done." Putting the last piece of bacon in her mouth, Joyce stands and puts her dishes in the sink as well. Walking into the hallway, Joyce grabbed her book bag for the first time in over a month.
"Bye mom, see you this afternoon." Hopper called as he slid his coat on. Walking to his truck, he opened the passenger door for Joyce, allowing her to climb up into the cab where she reached over and unlocked his door. Putting his book bag in the floorboard beside Joyce's feet, Hopper cranked the truck.
"I'll have the heat going in a second."
Joyce scoots into the middle of the bench and gets as close to him as she can.
"It's not so bad when I'm close to you."
"Well you can be as close as you want. You ready for today?"
"I guess I kind of have to be. It's not like I can avoid going to school when I have to graduate." She mumbles.
Hopper finally turns the heat on once the truck has warmed up. "So are we going to continue to act like we don't like each other, or are we allowed to hold hands in the hallway?" He questions, flicking on his turn signal.
"I don't know Hop, I don't want any drama my first day back. Everyone already thinks I was committed for beating up Chrissy."
"Well if they think you're crazy, hopefully they won't mess with you. Besides, It's December. We graduate in May, just a few more months and you don't have to worry about seeing any of these assholes again."
Pulling into the student parking lot at school, Hopper felt Joyce tense.
"It's okay Joy, I'm right here. We only have one week before we're out for Christmas break. We got this." He says, placing a hand on her knee. "If you need to go home at any time today just let me know okay?"
"Okay...It's going to be weird to be back at school. I hope you're right about people leaving me alone."
Hopper opened his door and slid out of the truck with ease. Holding out his hand, he helped Joyce do the same and when she didn't release her hand from his, he felt his heart soar. Slinging her bag over his shoulder, Hopper locked his truck door, and hand in hand they walked across the parking lot and into the school.
Joyce felt like everyone's eyes were on the two of them. Maybe it was just her imagination running away with her, but she could swear the whispers were already starting. She shouldn't care, and she knew this. Hopper was a grown man and could make his own decisions and apparently she was one of them that he refused to change. Making it to her locker, she was surprised not to find slurs covering the green surface.
"Wow, no one destroyed my locker while I was away. Are you sure we're at the right school?" She laughed, putting her combination into her lock and pulling the door open. When the cheap metal opened, countless pieces of folder paper fell to the floor. Reaching down, Joyce noticed Hopper's familiar hand writing on the majority of them.
"What's all this Hop?"
Hopper's hand came into her vision, helping her pick up the small pieces of paper.
"I may or may not have gotten bored on several occasions and decided to write you a note...or twenty..."
Joyce felt heat flood her cheeks and she looked away before he could see her blush. She put all of the notes into her book bag, intending to read them at lunch. Hopper intertwined his fingers with hers once more and although he wouldn't admit it, he was worried about her being back at school. He didn't want her coming from the safety of the farm and his family, just to be tossed back to the wolves of Hawkins High.
"Got everything you need for your first few classes?" He questions as she closed her locker.
"Yeah I believe so, I can't wait to hand all this work in to get it out of my bag."
Hopper walked Joyce to her first class of the day and as he stopped outside the classroom door, he pulled her close and placed a kiss on her forehead.
"Have a good day honey, I'll see you at lunch okay? Maybe we can go share a smoke before biology?" He chuckled, feeling her wrap her arms around his waist. She laid her head on his sternum, looking up into his eyes.
"I'm going to miss you." She whispered, hoping no one was around to hear her little confession.
"I'm going to miss you too Joy." He smiled, leaning down to place his lips on hers. The five minute bell rang suddenly, making Hopper groan.
"Go on to class, I'll see you soon." Joyce laughed, giving Hopper one last kiss. She turned and walked into the classroom, not even caring that the rest of her peers were watching her.
The cafeteria was humming with the voices of hungry teenagers, all of whom were all excited with the upcoming Christmas break. Joyce sat at her usual table, happy that none of her classmates had decided to claim it as theirs during her absence. Pulling out a paper bag from her book bag, Joyce opened her peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a Ziploc full of chips. She felt him before she saw him. That familiar feeling of safety enveloped her. Looking up, she saw Hopper walking toward her, his own paper bag in his hand. Pulling up a chair beside her, he placed his hand on her thigh.
"Hey good looking, whatcha got cookin?" He joked as Joyce held up her sandwich.
"Here we have the finest blend of a fresh peanut spread, alongside of preserved grapes." She giggled, taking a bite of it.
"How's your day been? No one has messed with you have they?" He questions, unpacking his own lunch.
"Surprisingly no, it's like I don't exist and it's amazing. If it had been like this the past six years I probably wouldn't have lost my shit and beat up Chrissy." She laughed, loving this new found feeling of freedom that came with being with Hopper.
The two of them talked and joked as they finished their lunches. Neither one of them giving a damn that several eyes were on them at all times. The news that the most popular guy in school was dating the least popular girl was spreading like wildfire.
"You about ready to go for a smoke?" Hopper asked, crumpling up his and Joyce's paper bag to throw away.
"Absolutely. I always crave one after I eat I and I have no idea why." Helping Joyce stand from their table, Hopper laced his fingers with hers and stepped out into the courtyard. The pair easily ducking out the small hole in the fence as they made their way to the bleachers.
"Did your mom seem to be acting weird to you this morning?" Joyce suddenly asked as she took a drag off of her cigarette.
Hopper exhaled smoke from his lungs, giving her a look. "Yeah a little. I think her and dad just don't know how to act around us now that we are officially dating. I'm honestly surprised they haven't told you to sleep on the couch since we told them."
"Yeah, I figured they were going to tell me that too. That or make me go back to the tree house. Hopefully if that happens though, Greg will trust me with the kerosene heater." Joyce rubbed her hands down her arms for emphasis on the cold. Even though they both had on their winter coats, it was still only fifteen degrees outside.
"Joy? Can I ask you something?" Hopper questioned as he took yet another drag off of his cigarette.
"What's up?"
"My mom brought up grand babies last night...and this morning she was talking about how having kids makes you lose sleep. Out of all the years I've known you, you've never mentioned if you wanted to have kids or not...I'm just curious how you feel about it?" He stated in a rush, ignoring the blush he could feel creeping up his neck.
"I mean, I've always wanted to have a family Hop. I just never thought it was in the cards for me ya know? I always thought I would never get away from Travis, and I wouldn't want any child to be around him. But yeah, I think I would like to have at least one kid. Maybe four." She teased, trying not to laugh when Hopper's eyes widened at the number she had stated. Taking one last hit from her cigarette, Joyce dropped the butt and crushed it out with the heel of her boot.
"We don't need to be late to Biology."
Walking hand in hand into their last class of the day made Joyce's anxiety spike. She knew Chrissy would have something smart to say about her and Hopper dating and she honestly didn't know if she had the energy to deal with her shit right now.
"Welcome back Miss Horowitz!" Her professor greeted as they walked in the door.
"Thanks Professors, it feels good to be back. Here's the work from the past month." Joyce handed her papers to her teacher and made a move toward her seat only to have Hopper's hand tighten in hers as he stayed put.
"Hey professor, I was wondering if I could move my seat? It seems that my current lab partner and I have come to a disagreement and I would prefer to keep things between us as professional as possible." Hopper asked loud enough for the students who were already seated to hear, including Chrissy.
"Absolutely Mr. Hopper, I was going to suggest this anyway, it seems I need to keep a closer eye on Miss. Carpenter. Joyce, if you don't mind, would you be okay with switching seats?" The teacher asked, moving to take her seat behind the desk.
"Wait just a second here, that's not fair!" Chrissy's high pitched voice called out from her seat at the back of the class.
"Why is that Miss Carpenter?" Their professor questioned, shuffling papers into a neat pile in front of her.
"I've been at this same seat all year, I shouldn't have to move just because Jim decided to get a new girlfriend." Chrissy whined, folding her arms across her chest.
"I'm not asking you to change seats because you and Mr. Hopper are no longer an item Miss Carpenter. I am telling you to move seats because it's close to the end of December and you still have a D in my class while both Mr. Hopper and Miss Horowitz both have had an A. If you want to graduate, I suggest you gather your belongings and move to the front of the class."
Everyone in the room was silent with the exception of Hoppers deep laugh. Students watched as Chrissy gathered her notebook and book bag and moved to Joyce's old seat, first row, dead center on the professor's desk. Moving to her new seat, Joyce bypassed her classmates, feeling as if she had won another fight. Hopper sat down in his original chair and began pulling stuff out of his book bag. Glancing up, he was met with several pairs of eyes.
"There a problem?" He asked loudly, Making everyone turn around in their seats. Joyce moved her hand to rest on Hoppers thigh once she was seated and gave him a gentle squeeze before settling down and focusing on their teacher's lecture.
