Being able to sit with Joyce in class was something Hopper hadn't had the privilege of doing since middle school, and to say he was excited, was putting it lightly. The first three days were like Christmas morning. They were able to talk to each other, hold hands under the table, slide each other silly little notes, and of course get yelled at by the teacher to be quiet. But Joyce was happy, so he didn't care if they got in trouble. Being away from Chrissy and placed at the back of the class away from everyone else who wanted to bother Joyce, was more than he could have asked for.

That was until Thursday. Everything had been going great, then her hand lingered on his knee too long and she gave him the sweetest damn smile he'd ever seen. She'd been going over the worksheet in front of them and made a joke, a joke that he completely missed when he was drawn to the light in her eyes and her lip when it found its way between her teeth. Shit.

"Are you even listening to me?" Joyce whispered, squeezing his leg.

Clearing his throat, Hopper reached down to place his hand over hers.

"Kind of?" He replied with a chuckle and blushed.

"Wait...are you blushing?" Joyce teased, raising her brow.

Setting his face back to normal, he bit the inside of his cheek and shifted to ease the discomfort in his now tight jeans. What the hell was wrong with him? Popping a random boner in class was something he could see doing while he was going through puberty, but now? When he was basically an adult and all Joyce had done was give him a look and barely touched him? He was just going to blame all the teasing he'd suffered the past few days with her randomly grabbing him with no release afterwards.

With a sigh, he dropped his pen and rubbed a hand over his face, trying anything and everything he could think of to will his hard on to go away.

"Hop?" Lost in thought, Joyce's voice startled him and he sat up a little straighter.

Still choosing to avoid eye contact, he stared down at the paper in front of them. "Hmm?" Was all offered.

"What's wrong?" She asked, worried.

When she squeezed his leg again, he finally risked a glance in her direction and swallowed.

Knowing he had to give her some kind of an explanation, he looked around to make sure the rest of the students were busy with their assignments and that the teacher still had her nose buried in a book. He reached down again to cover her hand and removed it from his leg to place over the bulge in his jeans.

Joyce's eyes went wide when she felt how hard he was and looked up at him shocked. She didn't have the slightest idea how the body of an eighteen year old male worked when it came to this, but she also didn't think things like this happened that often.

"Why?" She whispered curiously, turning her body just enough to block the view of anyone who might choose then to turn around in their direction.

Hopper blushed again almost instantly and jumped when she pressed her hand harder against him. Trying to hide his gasp behind a cough, he dropped his head to the table on top of his arm and took in a deep breath.

"This...this right here is why." He groaned and started shaking when she continued to move her hand. "Stop..." He begged, already to the point where the slightest touch was becoming too much. If she kept teasing him, there was no way he'd be able to stand, let alone walk out of class with any dignity still intact. He sure as hell wasn't about to allow her to make him cum in his pants. Especially not in the middle of class. He was a senior in high school for christ's sake.

Grinning, Joyce finally stopped torturing him and went back to filling out their paper. Class would be over in fifteen minutes and they had only completed three of the questions. Thankfully she already knew most of the material and took it upon herself to finish while Hopper dealt with his not so little problem.

When the bell rang, Joyce stood to gather her things and gave Hopper a look to make sure he was ready. He got to his feet after a second and she smiled, taking his hand to lace their fingers together as she dropped their assignment onto the teacher's desk and pulled him to her locker.

"So... you going to tell me what caused that little incident back there?" Joyce laughed as she stuffed all of their belongings into her locker. Hopper swallowed and looked up and down the hallway in case someone was listening.

"You do this thing… where you bite your lip and it's so incredibly sexy. I honestly have no idea why, but it's such a turn on. Not to mention I haven't got off in over a week and you've been teasing the shit out of me." He admits, watching as she not so subtly bent over to tie her shoe and allowed her ass to skim the front of his jeans. Thoughts of grabbing her hips and pulling her to him suddenly filled his head.

"Joy come on, you're killing me." Hopper whispered, taking a step back from her as she turned to face him. She was intentionally biting her bottom lip and he groaned, reaching for her hand.

"You're the goddamn devil you know that?"

Joyce was barely able to keep up with Hopper's long stride as they walked toward the student parking lot. At one point, she thought he was going to pick her up and throw her over his shoulder in his impatience at her tiny footsteps. He reached the truck first, walking to the passenger side.

"Whoa, hold up," Hopper called as Joyce reached for the handle on the passenger door, not quite getting it open before he grabbed her wrist. Quickly turning her to face him, Hopper cupped her cheeks and kissed her hard. A moan escaped her parted lips and Hopper took the opportunity to slide his tongue into her mouth, messaging his against hers in long, slow strokes until her knees started to buckle.

Moving a hand to grip her side, Hopper made sure to press his hips against her, wanting her to feel exactly what her touch did to him. Wanting her to know exactly how worked up he had gotten over the last few days.

"Hop," Joyce whined, pulling away from his lips breathless as she looked up at him with hooded eyes.

Hopper grinned, nipping her lip. "Yes?" Taking a quick look around to make sure no one was watching them, Hopper slowly slid his hand from her side, gliding his fingertips over her stomach and down between her legs where he pressed against her center over her jeans hard enough to make her shudder.

"Mmm, you like that?" He whispered, kissing down her neck when he felt her thighs squeeze against his hand. He curled his fingers against her and pressed hard one more time before abruptly pulling away and placing his hand behind her head on top of his truck.

Joyce just stared at him stunned, trying to clear her lust filled mind to figure out what the hell just happened.

"Let's go home," Hopper said with a smirk, reaching around her to open the door.

Swallowing, Joyce carefully pulled herself into the cab once her legs started working properly and watched Hopper slide in next to her. She honestly had no clue what to say. If this was even the slightest hint to what she'd been putting him through, she kinda felt bad.

Before Hopper put the keys in the ignition, he turned to face her. "You alright?" As much as he got a thrill out of teasing her, he also wanted to make sure he hadn't crossed a line. The fact she hadn't said anything made him a little uneasy.

"I am so sorry." She finally said after a minute, resting her hands in her lap.

Hopper reached over to place a finger under her chin and smiled when he met her eyes. "Why are you apologizing?"

Joyce turned her head slightly to kiss his palm. "Because that's torture...and I've been teasing you for days."

With a chuckle, Hopper kissed her forehead and straightened in his seat to turn the ignition over. "You can make it up to me later." He said with a wink and pulled out of the parking lot.

When they arrived back at the farm, Hopper parked his tuck in his usual spot and noticed his mother's car was gone.

"Guess we have the place to ourselves." He informed Joyce, opening his door.

Greg worked late at the station on Thursdays and wouldn't be home until sometime after dinner, and even if Mary was only gone for another twenty minutes, he'd gladly take advantage of any second he got to be alone with her.

Planning to put off chores for as long as possible, Hopper unlocked the front door and instantly went into the kitchen to undoubtedly have a drink of milk straight from the carton.

Joyce followed behind him and dropped her book bag onto the kitchen table, shaking her head when she found him wiping his mouth and shoving the milk back into the fridge.

"Mom won't be home for a few more hours." He announced, pointing to the note Mary had left on the counter.

"Should we knock out our chores first or get started on homework?" Joyce asked.

Hopper raised his brow. "Um, neither?" Pushing himself away from the counter, he joined her beside the table.

Joyce smiled as soon as she saw the look on his face. "Hopper…" She threatened, taking a step back to avoid the tickle she knew was coming.

"What?" He said with a grin, trying to act innocent.

"Don't you dare." Joyce pointed at him, continuing to create a distance between them.

A brief twitch in his hand was all it took for Joyce to yelp and take off running up the stairs.

"Hey!" Hopper called, almost tripping over a rug on his way after her.

Catching her just outside of his bedroom, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders from behind and blew a raspberry in the crook of her neck.

Joyce half halfheartedly struggled to get away and started giggling when he continued his assault across her collarbone and to the other side of her neck.

Somewhere in the middle of his lips skimming her throat and his hands tickling her anywhere he could reach, they ended up in his room and on the bed with Hopper pulling her shirt up enough to nip the skin at her side.

"Hop!" Joyce laughed, jerking her side away from his mouth when she couldn't breathe. "Ok, ok! I give!" She managed to choke out, pushing against his head when he blew on her stomach.

Finally deciding she'd had enough, Hopper lifted his head and placed his chin just below her navel. "You're so damn cute when you laugh." Just being able to see her happy and knowing he was the one making her that way, caused his chest ache in a good way.

Reaching up to thread his fingers with hers, he pulled her hand down to press his lips to her knuckles.

"You know you can make me laugh without trying to kill me right?" She joked, untangling their fingers just enough to poke his jaw.

Hopper chuckled and playfully nipped at her finger. "You love it."

"Wrong." Joyce corrected. "I love you. I don't love being tickled to death."

Playfully rolling his eyes, Hopper scooted up her chest and kissed her slowly. His hand pushed her hair behind her ear and made its way down across her collarbone, over her shoulder and eventually down the length of her body to rest at her hip as he settled between her legs, never breaking the kiss.

Lazily lifting her shirt, he caressed the newly exposed skin before dipping his thumb under the material of her jeans to brush over her pointy hip bone. Hopper's hips unconsciously flexed against her when she gasped, and he kissed at the crook of her neck to hide his groan.

Lifting his head to see her face, he smiled and reached for the button on her jeans, popping them open in one swift movement. When he felt her tense, he saw her eyes searching his and stilled his hand.

"All you have to do is tell me to stop." He offered, trying to keep his voice level to not give away how nervous he was suddenly feeling.

The room stayed silent other than their breathing and Hopper took that as his queue to continue, but before they went any further, he stood and shut his bedroom door, locking it for good measure. He licked his lips as he took in the sight in front of him, Joyce laid out with an arm above her head, the other resting on her chest. Her shirt now barely covering the top of her stomach. A sight he had dreamed about on more than one occasion.

Making sure she was still watching him, he reached down to readjust himself in his pants as he walked back over to her, not missing her eyes dropping to his crotch and her lip finding its way between her lips.

"W...what...are we about to have sex?" Joyce finally voiced and propped herself up on an elbow. Finding herself confused as to what was happening.

Hopper leaned forward and placed his knee on the bed beside her. "That wasn't my intention…" He admitted, noticing the slight panic in her features. "And from the look you're giving me, it wouldn't have happened even if I wanted to." He teased, kissing her forehead. "What is it you said at the tree house? Oh yeah, I'm just messing around."

When he saw her instantly relax, he couldn't help but chuckle. "If that's alright with you?"

Joyce gave him a nod and swallowed, trying to calm her nerves.

"I'm serious." Hopper started, shifting them around so she was further up the bed with him laying at her side. "You tell me if anything makes you feel uncomfortable." After their talk about the attempted rape and her possibly being nervous in general to the entire situation, he wanted to take extra precautions to not push things too far too fast.

Without speaking, Joyce grabbed his cheeks and pulled him in for a kiss, distracting herself as he worked his way back down her body to continue where he'd left off. Instead of going for her zipper like she expected, he pressed his fingers over her jeans and between her legs, gently rubbing back and forth a few times, testing to see her reaction each time he added more pressure. Unable to hold back a moan, Joyce sucked in a deep breath and thrust her hips against his hand, only to have him suddenly stop, much like he had back in the school parking lot.

Hopper continued to explore her mouth, ignoring her pout and finally pulled her zipper down. His fingers lingering just above her panties to tease the skin there, leaving goosebumps in their wake.

The sound that left Joyce's mouth when his fingers slipped under the soft cotton of her underwear and down between her slick folds, almost killed him.

"Jesus...you're so wet." He whispered, nipping below her ear as his middle finger circled her clit, causing another soft cry to pass her lips.

Hopper had zero experience in this department, only going by what he'd seen or heard from others, and the fact that she hadn't stopped him yet was enough to give him a slight confidence boost. Hell, the fact she was practically soaked through her clothes had him feeling like he'd just won the lottery.

Sitting up a little more to see her face, Hopper continued to lightly stroke between her folds and back around her clit with two fingers until everything became a slippery mess. Her eyes were rolled back and the hand on her chest was now fisted into her shirt, her breathing coming in quick pants. When she started a slow rhythm with her hips in time with his hand, Hopper chose then to slip his middle finger inside her and she instantly clamped around him, causing them both to moan.

"Still ok?" Hopper asked, moving his finger in and out of her slowly as he continued to keep pressure on her clit with his palm. When she wrapped her hand around his wrist and made him press against her harder, he knew that was her answer. He also knew he was doomed in holding back his own arousal and used his free hand to quickly get his pants open.

Joyce opened her eyes at the sound of his belt buckle coming undone and lost all coherent thought when she watched him start stroking himself. Before she knew what was happening a heat washed over her body and she was coming hard against his hand, biting her lip to keep from screaming as the most intense feeling she'd ever felt flooded her senses.

"Shit Joyce…" Hopper groaned as he watched a burst of pleasure invade her features. That mixed with her clenching around him was enough to send him over the edge. Quickly finding her lips, he kissed her desperately as he spilled over his hand and onto her stomach, surely hitting the bed as well.

After a minute, Joyce lifted her head to stare at the mess he'd created. "Hop...ew." She joked lazily with a giggle, looking at the lower half of her clothing to make sure nothing landed on it.

"Sorry." He laughed and pulled his shirt over his head to start cleaning up the mess, knowing he'd have to do laundry before his mother got home. "Why are you shaking?" He asked when he started wiping off her stomach.

Joyce shook head and smiled, still riding a slight high from her orgasm. "I don't know, but I'm alright."

Tossing his now dirty shirt toward the door, he tucked himself back into his boxers, not bothering to close his jeans as he settled against her side.

"You're not cold are you?" Wrapping an arm around her waist, he pulled her closer, letting her head drop against his shoulder.

With a sigh, she tried to will her body to settle down and curled into him. "I'm fine Hop. I just feel good is all."

"So this is normal?" He asked, a little concerned when he could still feel her trembling.

Joyce shrugged and buried her face in his neck. "How would I know? This is the first time I've ever done this."

Hopper sat up slightly and stared down at her, not saying anything for several seconds. "Wait...I mean, I know this is the first time you've ever done anything with someone else, but with just yourself...You've never?…" He motioned with his hand toward her jeans.

When she shook her head, Hopper's jaw dropped in disbelief. If he felt an ego boost before at being able to get her off his first time trying, his pride was out the roof with the newfound knowledge of giving her the first orgasm she'd ever had.

He supposed it made sense when he thought about it. Living with Travis and dealing with the nightmare of his existence, didn't give her a lot of free time to worry about her own pleasures when she was struggling to keep everyone else around her happy. Choosing to not dig further, he reluctantly pushed himself to sit.

"Come on, I need to wash the comforter and my shirt before-"

"Jim, you home?" Both teens froze at Greg's voice coming down the hallway, neither of them hearing him enter the house.

Joyce instantly panicked and quickly stood to button her jeans, Hopper doing the same as he went to his closet to grab a new shirt. He didn't get very far before the knob on his door jiggled.

"Jim!" Greg yelled. "Open this door, right now."

"Fuck." Hopper mouthed, turning on his heel to do as asked, deciding to forget the shirt to not piss his father off more by taking even longer.

When Jim opened the door, the first thing Greg's eyes landed on was Joyce standing beside the bed with her arms wrapped around herself, looking more guilty than he'd ever seen before. Then of course his son in front of him half-dressed. Both of them sported the same messy hair and swollen lips. A clear sign they were doing something they probably shouldn't have been doing.

"Why was the door locked?" Greg asked, placing a hand on his hip as he leaned against the wooden frame.

Jim cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck. "Um…"

Greg sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, not wanting to deal with this after the day he'd had. "You know better son, and now that you two are dating, you're lucky your mother and I still allow you two to share a bed in our house." Greg met Jim's eyes then, making sure he understood. "Get dressed and go do your damn chores." Without another word Greg pushed away from the door frame and headed toward his bedroom.

Joyce sat back down on the edge of the bed and rubbed her hands over her face, feeling somewhat mortified. "Doesn't he usually work late on Thursdays?" She whispered.

"Yeah…" Hopper replied as he went to get dressed, trying to put a finger on his father's mood. It wasn't like him to snap like that, especially if he had the opportunity to embarrass him instead. The fact he chose not to after catching them in a somewhat compromising situation had him a little uneasy.

The sun had just started setting when Mary finally returned to the farm. Joyce and Hopper were sitting on the porch steps removing their boots, having just finished their chores.

"Need any help mom?" Hopper called when Mary opened the car door.

"No honey I got it, go on inside and get cleaned up for dinner."

Eyeing the take out bags, Jim held the door open for her and took Joyce's hand in his, pulling her upstairs. They hadn't really said much to each other as they took care of the horses, both of them trying to make sure everything would be finished on time since they had gotten such a late start. The tension left by Greg was still there and they both felt it.

Joyce finally broke the silence as she pulled on a pair of too-large sweatpants. "Do you think your dad will say anything to your mom about what happened earlier?"

"Probably…" Hopper sighed. "They don't usually keep things from each other."

"Will she be mad?" Joyce shoved her hands in her pockets and stared at the floor.

"Hey." Reaching out to pull her into his arms, Hopper kissed the top of her head, sensing the change in her mood. "It'll be alright. Even if she is mad, you know how she is. She'll probably just give us a lecture and after we have dinner things will go back to normal."

"I can't afford to have your parents angry with me, Hop...If I mess this up I have nowhere else to go." She sighed, dropping her head against his chest. "And it would absolutely kill me to lose them...or you."

"Joyce, look at me." He demanded, carefully grabbing her chin. "You're not going to lose anyone. My parents are nothing like Travis, or Linda, and you know that. They love you, just as much as they love me, hell they may even love you a little more than me." He teased. "Now come on, let's get this over with."

Knowing he was right, Joyce reluctantly pulled out of his embrace and followed him downstairs into the kitchen. Mary was sitting alone reading over the paper, the table set for three.

Hopper looked around confused before he took his usual seat. "Where's dad?" He asked, grabbing a fork.

Mary folded the paper and set it aside, taking a sip of her coffee. "He's not feeling well, so it's just us tonight."

"Oh." He said, scooping some food out of a container and onto his plate. "Is he sick?"

Choosing to stay quiet, Joyce pushed her food around with a fork, not actually eating as she listened to them talk. She couldn't help feeling like maybe she was part of the reason Greg wouldn't be joining them.

"He just had a bad day at work is all. Not that finding you two this afternoon helped any." Mary scolded, giving them both a look.

The anxiety Joyce had already been feeling started flooding through her and she felt the familiar sensation of tears pricking her eyes. Taking in a deep breath, she dropped her fork and placed her hands in her lap, trying to make herself invisible as she got her emotions under control.

Ignoring the part about him and Joyce, Hopper continued to press his mother. "What happened at work?"

"Something about Joyce's case came up. It's nothing either of you kids need to worry about." She stated. "I promise you everything will be fine, your father just needs to rest."

Slowly lifting her eyes, Joyce looked between Hopper and Mary, the tears she'd been holding back finding their way down her cheeks against her will. "I'm sorry…" She whispered.

Focused on his mother, Hopper turned his head at the sound of Joyce's voice and stood instantly, almost knocking his chair over when he saw the look on her face. He knew she was already uneasy, but never expected her to react this way.

"Nothing about this is your fault, honey." Mary soothed, setting her mug down.

Joyce shook her head and got to her feet, taking a step back from the table. "Every bit of this is my fault…" She said, her voice so low Hopper almost didn't hear her. "I am so sorry." Just knowing she'd upset Greg with her problems, enough to make him avoid having dinner with his family made her want to throw up. All because of the baggage Travis had loaded her down with over the years, baggage that was now being unloaded onto the Hoppers. "I'll go...i'll stay at the tree house...I'll…" Joyce stopped talking when she felt her chest tighten and sucked in a deep breath. She attempted to wipe her eyes, which proved pointless when more tears continued to fall.

Quickly picking up on her labored breathing, Hopper took a step forward and placed his hand on her shoulder, ignoring the way her body reeled away under his touch. "You have to calm down, Joy." He pleaded, knowing she was close to having a panic attack. "You're just overthinking. You know we love you." When she got that look in her eyes and started backing herself against the wall, Hopper acted fast and moved her into the living room to sit down.

He knelt in front of her and placed his hands on her knees. "Look at me Joyce." Surprisingly she met his eyes without hesitation. "Try to relax, please." He rubbed up and down her legs, hoping the comforting touch would help soothe her anxiety.

Mary stood by the entryway and watched for a moment to see if her son could get Joyce calm before she needed to step in, not wanting to make the situation worse for her by hovering. She knew the poor girl would be embarrassed enough knowing she'd had a breakdown in the middle of dinner.

"What's going on?" Greg's voice called from behind Mary, startling her slightly. She placed a finger to her lips, signaling for him to be quiet. Before he could respond, Joyce speaking directed their attention back to the living room.

"I'm no good for this family Hop…I've brought nothing but disaster with me." Continuing to watch her breathing, Joyce swallowed, but couldn't stop herself from crying. "I don't like knowing I'm the reason your dad is stressed to the point he's been locked in his room for hours and probably can't stand the sight of me."

"What are you talking about?" Hopper asked, reaching up to cup her cheek. "Everyone in this house loves you. You're the most important person in my life and always will be, and they know that. Nothing would ever make them abandon you."

Joyce reached up to remove his hand and shook her head. "The case...it's not worth it. I'll go somewhere Travis can't find me-"

"Absolutely not." Greg's voice broke through the living room as he slowly approached his kids and took a seat next to Joyce. She tensed under Hopper's hand that was still on her knee and sniffed.

"Joyce darlin', I want you to listen to me. My mood tonight had absolutely nothing to do with you. I promise, you have done nothing wrong. I had a rough day at work. Some things that you don't need to concern yourself with were brought to my attention and honestly it pissed me off, so I came home. Then i found you two and…" Greg sighed, running his hand over his face.

"I just needed a few hours to get rid of a hell of a headache honey. You know as well as I do when you have a headache the last thing you want to do is eat a big meal, which Mary never makes or does take out in small portions." A small laugh escapes from Joyce's lips. Making the mood in the room shift instantly.

"I apologize for being short when I came home this evening. Are we okay?" Greg questions, turning his body to face Joyce and Jim who is still crouching with his hand on her knee.

"We're okay...I'm sorry. I just start to panic and it all goes downhill from there." Joyce confides, not knowing if Greg and Mary understood how her attacks were triggered.

"No need to apologize darlin', like I said, I acted horribly. If anything the chaos of tonight is mostly my fault." Greg looks up at Mary and catches her eye. She stands from the entrance of the living room and comes to stand behind Jim.

"Joyce honey, why don't you help me warm dinner back up real quick, I'm sure Greg is hungry now that his headache is gone. Besides, neither you or Jim really ate anything earlier."

Hopper stood from the floor, his knee giving a slight pop as he did so. Moving to allow Joyce to walk into the kitchen with his mother, he felt a hand lightly touch his arm. Looking down, Greg had reached for him, silently signaling for him to stay behind. When Mary and Joyce were both safely back in the confines of the kitchen, Greg leaned back on the couch, his hands once again going up to massage the bridge of his nose. At this moment, Hopper noticed his father had more grey in his hair and dark circles under his eyes.

"Sit down Jim." Greg states, moving over slightly for his son to sit beside him. The two men sat in silence for a moment, neither of them sure who was going to speak first. Finally, Greg sat up and cleared his throat.

"Jim. What happened this afternoon doesn't need to happen again. It was different before. You and Joyce weren't dating a month ago, so it was fine for you two to share a bed. Your mother and I were both confident that nothing sexual was going on between the two of you. But now… Now you're dating and Jim ...I'll be damned if that girl doesn't get to go to college because she gets pregnant. She has worked too damn hard and come way too close to reaching her dreams for them to be postponed indefinitely because of an unplanned pregnancy. Do you understand? Your bedroom door is to remain unlocked at all times and if you and Joyce are both in there, with the exception of going to sleep, that door is to be opened at least three inches. Your mother and I will drop in from time to time, and no we won't be knocking. Do I make myself clear?"

Hopper nodded but didn't look his dad in the eye. He adjusted his collar, not wanting his father to see the blush that was creeping up his neck. He was a grown man for fucks sake, he shouldn't be blushing at having the talk with his father. Hopper already knew they needed to be safe when the time came for their relationship to go to the next level. The sound of his father laughing made him look up. His dad was actually laughing, something he hadn't heard much in the past few weeks.

"What's so funny?" Hopper asked with a smile, finally making eye contact with his old man.

"I just thought of something. God forbid you knock her up before you're married. But if for some reason you do, I can't even threaten to shoot you for defiling my daughter! Obviously, I can't shoot my own son ya know?" More laughter escapes from Greg who is now attempting to cover his face with his hand. Hopper sits quietly and stares at his dad, not sure if he should laugh or be slightly afraid. He had joked earlier that his parents probably loved Joyce more then they did him and right now he was starting to question that statement.

Greg's laughter finally died away and Jim saw him reach into his front pocket. Holding his hand out toward his son, Greg waited as Jim opened his hand and neatly placed a small gift there before getting to his feet. Glancing down into his hand, Hopper's heart stopped momentarily as he stared at the small foil packet resting in his palm.

"If the moment comes and you are both ready, make sure to use this son. I'm too young to be pawpaw right now, okay? This is the only one you're getting from me, so next time you gotta buy them on your own." Without another word, Greg left the living room and headed toward the kitchen, the delicious smell of dinner making his stomach growl.

Hopper took a second to collect himself as he sat on the couch alone, utterly confused. His dad had just told him not to have sex, but gave him a condom? Did that mean they had his blessing? Or was it just an, in case you can't control yourself sort of deal? Hopper's stomach growling brought him out of his head and he stood, sliding the condom into the front pocket of his jeans before heading back into the kitchen.

Ignoring the table as he entered, Hopper goes to the sink to wash his hands. The feeling of the condom in his palm had left a weird, dirty feeling for some reason. Finally sitting back down, he began to eat his food, completely lost in thought over his dad's conversation.

"Did you decide what you want to do for the float this year hun? The parade is on Saturday and we haven't even started yet." Mary questions over her fork full of broccoli.

"I think we're just going to ride the horses down the street, maybe have a banner or something to hold between the two lead riders. Then I figured Jim and Joyce could drive the blazer if they didn't want to ride a horse? Maybe throw candy out to the kids." Greg states, wiping his face with a napkin.

"Hop, are you okay?" Joyce asks placing her hand on his knee.

"Hmm? Yeah...I'm fine, just tired is all." Hopper sighed and pushed his plate away from him, suddenly asking to be excused for bed.

"That's fine honey, I know you've had an exhausting day." Mary smiled into her coffee cup, trying not to let the kids see her laugh.

"May I be excused as well?" Joyce questions, not wanting Hopper to be alone just yet.

"Of course." Greg answers for Mary. Standing up, Joyce places her plate in the sink.

"Should I sleep on the couch from here on out?" Joyce asks toward the two adults still at the table. She was willing to take her couch exile as long as it made them happy.

"That won't be necessary Joyce, Jim knows what we expect of him now. I'm sure he will fill you in once you're upstairs." Greg states, reaching out to hold Mary's hand. Joyce gave her adoptive parents a curious glance before backing away from the table.

"Umm, alright then. I'll just go upstairs. Goodnight guys."

"Goodnight Joyce." They said in unison.

Turning on her heel, Joyce practically runs up the steps toward Hopper's bedroom. When she enters she closes the door, automatically making Jim walk across the room to open it wide enough for someone to see inside.

"What are you doing?" Joyce questions, going to sit on the bed to take her socks off.

"We need to talk." He says coming to sit down beside her.

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah. Dad wanted me to hang back a second when you and mom went to warm up dinner. We have some new rules to abide by. First, the door has to stay open at least three inches if both of us are here, with the exception of us going to sleep. Second, it can't be locked, third, they are both going to be dropping in from time to time and he said they weren't going to be knocking. He got the vibe of what we were doing earlier, and he's worried that you're going to end up pregnant and not be able to go to college." Hopper blurted out, running his hand through his hair.

"Well, that's a lot to take in." Joyce voiced, going to the closet to take off her bra. Hopper, most of the time a gentleman, turned his head to give her what bit of privacy he could.

"He also gave me a condom." He mumbled, hoping Joyce didn't hear him.

"He did what!?" She almost yelled, walking back over to the bed and climbing in on her side.

"Said that if we couldn't fight the urge that I needed to at least use protection, which I was going to do anyway. I am way too young to be a dad Joy. Hell, I can barely keep myself alive, let alone a tiny baby."

"I feel the same way, Hopper. With all this stuff going on with the trial and Travis, I honestly don't know if I would be able to handle being a parent on top of that."

Hopper stood and slid his sweatpants off. He'd be damned if he was going to sleep uncomfortable just because his parents were afraid of him and Joyce messing around. Walking across the cold wooden floor in just a pair of boxers, he turns the bedroom light off and leaves the door open just to make a point that they understood the new rules. Climbing in bed, he pulled Joyce to him. Resting her ass against the front of his boxers.

"We're going to be okay Joy, and I totally understand if you don't want to do anything else." He whispered into the top of her head, loosening his hold when she turned to look at him.

"Are you kidding? What we did…what you did earlier was amazing. I haven't felt that relaxed ever...I don't want to stop doing things, but I think just messing around is as far as we need to go for now."

"Agreed." He laughed as she settled back down into his embrace where he gently lifted her thin nightshirt and rubbed the cool skin of her hip.

"I love you." He whispered, placing a kiss to the crook of her neck.

"I love you too."

Greg and Mary quietly climbed the stairs an hour later, not wanting to wake the sleeping teenagers and Greg was the first to see Jim's door slightly open. Tiptoeing over, he peeked inside to see both kids were sound asleep. Joyce had her head resting on Jim's chest, his arm safely holding her in place. Greg couldn't help the grin that materialized on his lips. They were going to be okay. He knew his talk with Jim had struck some fear into the boy's heart. After all, he only wanted the best for Joyce as well. Quietly closing the door, he followed Mary down the hall and toward their bedroom, both of them ready to finally have this day over with.