Bonding In Gardening
Disclaimer: Another Tumblr post inspired this sequel to 'Bonding In Sibling Arrest'.
"The Man spent all that money to fix up the house but couldn't do anything about the awesome green I know this place had? That's not cool, Brochachos." Declared Argyle as he and the Byers/Hopper clan took in the sight of the remodeled house the family lives in in Lenora Hills, California.
"Actually… I kind of asked them to leave it alone since I thought it was a project I could do myself since I actually love gardening." El told him and the rest of the family.
All of whom looked at her in surprise. "El, sweetie, you know school is going to be taking up your time." Pointed out Joyce with Hopper nodding in agreement.
Though he would've preferred to be back in Hawkins but considering it was now nothing more than a ruined ghost town following the war Vecna had started, he had to make due. But considering who he was doing it with, he was rather happy about it in the end. The whole situation with Vecna had taken up some considerable time and that had put the Byers kids behind in School but considering the situation, education wasn't all that important at the time. A still very much alive Owens and a repentant Lt. Colonel Jack Sullivan had stepped in to help fix up the house and give a cover story for why the Byers clan had been gone from school for so long. Sullivan himself had come to see the errors of his ways shortly after the Upside Down had started to make itself known and had almost ended up dead because of it. Prompting him to wanting to make amends for his earlier short sightedness and thanks to El reaching out to Kali in an act of desperation where Max was concerned following the final confrontation with Vecna and the Upside Down, Max's health and mind had been fully restored thanks to Kali having come across someone who thankfully had never been captured by the Government that had the power to heal.
Max, along with the others were also now residents of the greater Indiana area or in Max's case, California since her biological father lives in the state. El's love for gardening had actually started a week after the move to Lenora Hills after she saw some neighbors spending so much time attending to their own that she grew curious about it and hesitantly reached out. Culminating in them teaching her everything they knew about gardening and causing her to develop a love for it herself and gaining a new hobby that she discovered she was quite good at. To the point there had been quite a few compliments sent in her direction about her hobby that had put her over the Moon and made for a proud Joyce. Will had even taken the time on a few occasions to draw her while involved in her favorite new hobby and it had been one of the ways the two had ended up bonding and she looked forward to it happening again. At least, once Will dealt with everything he'd ended up going through once again thanks to the Upside Down that is. "And you know what? I'm gonna be right there with you in getting this looking great again." Declared Jonathan to his sister and getting a pleased smile from her.
For he still had a lot of making up to do with his siblings after his earlier actions in the year and knew this would be one way to help with the sibling bonds. Plus, he was also considering adding in some teaching lessons for Will and El where driving was concerned thanks to him getting the bright idea to get the Government to fix up his car. Nancy, next to him, smiled supportively of what her boyfriend was looking to do and even voiced her own desire to help out. Nancy had chosen to make the move to be with Jonathan and the Byers/Hopper clan after everything was over with and had even ignored her father's disapproval of it. Whom thought she was making a mistake whereas her mother was actually supportive of her choices while Mike was jealous because he couldn't do like she was doing. "Nice of Dr. Owens and Sullivan to leave you some supplies for this, El." Will added softly as he looked over at the gardening supplies arranged neatly in the yard.
His words gaining another smile from El in the process. "Really is." Those two owed her a lot.
"But first, lets get inside and get everything situated." Declared Hopper.
"Its… Gonna be weird having you live with us, Hopper." Jonathan told him as they made to move towards the front door and to the inside of their home.
"Yeah, that face is definitely gonna be one to get used to having around the house." Teased Joyce and Hopper scowled good naturedly at her while the others couldn't help but be amused.
It would take a lot of time and effort in between school and dealing with the trauma she and her family has, but El would succeed in getting her garden looking great again much to her immense happiness and the pride and happiness of her family.
Author's Notes: Hope folks enjoyed!