through the phone | mileven texting au

thirty-nine

"dad!" el whines, "why does mom get a house in hawkins just because she loved it here and i don't even get some fries when i wanna!?" she huffs dramatically

"kid, i had to keep her in my grasp but you... you're my kid." he sets both of his hands on her shoulders

"she was your wife. she was already in your grasp." she mumbles as he chuckles

"alright kid, we cleaned the house, wanna grab some lunch as a break?" he asks as she nods rapidly before running out the door quickly

he chuckles, following behind, "so el.... i have been meaning to ask you.." he trails off as she hums, leaning against him as they walk down the street

"does your annoying boyfriend know you're here?" he asks

she giggles softly, "well... i told him i was coming to hawkins but i didn't tell him i have arrived."

"good, that's good. that means i don't need to see him today." he nods

"dad! i will tell him, it's just our house is not ready and stuff and i know if i told him he'll probably come find me and distract me. i wanna focus on finishing my room today so i don't need to do it tomorrow." she smiles

"good. don't let boys distract you." he reminds her

"oh my goodness." she shakes her head, "where are we even heading right now?"

"bennys. me and your mom loved that diner." he smiles

"you and mom? is the diner even still there?" she gives him a look

"i don't know." he shrugs as she nods

after about a 5 minute walk they arrive at the small diner, "dad! this place is so cute! oh my god!" el exclaims, dragging her dad into the diner

"jim!? what a nice surprise." benny walks towards them

"still you working here, huh? thought you be in the ground by now." hopper jokes as benny laughs

"this your daughter?" benny asks

"the one and only, el hopper." hopper presents as el waves shyly

"she looks like terry more than you. where is she anyways?" benny asks, looking behind them

"oh she passed long ago." hopper waves it off

"oh, um, i'm sorry." benny says with a small frown

el giggles, "don't look so sad, it's okay. mom is probably laughing at your reaction right now. it gets better and better every time."

"don't mind my daughter, she's just joking." hopper smiles as benny returns the gesture

"there's a table in the back by the way." benny pats hopper on the back as he nods

"oh and, 2 waffle sets." hopper says before dragging her daughter to the back

"why waffles? we had waffles this morning." el says as they sit down