𝓟𝓵𝓮𝓪𝓼𝓮 𝓢𝓽𝓪𝔂 *{𝓐 𝓙𝓸𝓹𝓹𝓮𝓻 𝓢𝓽𝓸𝓻𝔂}*

Reunion

Hopper woke up, giddy and nervous at the same time. He was still at Murray's house, so when he woke up, his door was thrown open
"Wake up, Jim. It's time to see your girlfriend again." Murray joked. He got up, and realized it was already....1:00 PM?!
"How is it 1 PM?" He asked Murray
"Well, sorry for wanting you to sleep." Murray rolled his eyes as he handed him food
"Thanks." He muttered as he began to eat. He was so nervous, it was ridiculous. A part of him was telling him to stop freaking out, but the more sensible part of him told him that not freaking out was not an option. He always freaked out
After breakfast, he could tell Murray knew what was going on, so he reassured him "Everything's gonna be fine, Jim."
"I know." He muttered. It was when he was up in his room, practicing what he was going to say, when Joyce arrived.
"Hey, Murray." He heard Joyce say. Oh god, even her voice was beautiful.
"Hey Joyce."
"You said you have something about...Hopper?"
"Yeah, I do. Jim!"
As he came down, Joyce asked Murray "How many friends do you have named Jim?"
"Just one." He smiled. Quickly, Joyce spun around, and stared at him. At first, he was worried she would smack him. He wasn't sure why. But luckily, she didn't. She rushed to him, wrapping her arms around him, crying. He was slightly shocked at her hug, but he didn't mind. He always loved her hugs. He, of course, having also missed her, hugged back
"W-Was that you?" Joyce asked in his ear, tears in her eyes "Was it you in the lights?"
"Yes." He smiled through his tears "It was always me. I missed you so much."
"I missed you too." Joyce said, tears staining her shirt, as was his tears. After what felt like an hour of them simply hugging, they pulled away. He felt his face go red, but that always happened when he was around Joyce. He might just be going crazy, but Joyce looked like she was blushing too.
"H-Hop?" Joyce muttered
"Y-Yeah?" He asked, kinda worried about what was going to come next
"Th-There's something I need to tell you."
"Y-Yeah...what?" If this were going according to his luck, Joyce would tell him that she wasn't into him, or that she had gotten a new boyfriend
But no. He couldn't move as she came closer to him, placed her hand on his cheek, and kissed him on the lips.
Um...was he dreaming? Oh shit, her lips felt good.
When she pulled away, she cracked a half-smile, blushing.
"I-Jo-Wha-"
"I-I love you, Hop. I've loved you for a really long time." She admitted. Oh. My. God.
"W-Wait, really?" He felt himself tearing up, which he didn't even care about
"Yeah." She chuckled, then wiped his tears "Why are you crying?"
He chuckled "I don't know."
"Want another kiss?"
"Yes." They kissed again. And again. And they kept kissing until the fell on to Murray's couch, him holding Joyce's hips, her arms wrapped around his body.
Once they finally pulled away, Joyce asked, "Where's Murray?"
"I don't know. Probably got tired of us." He chuckled and kissed her again.
"I love you." Joyce muttered against his lips
After they pulled off each other, he was finally able to ask, "How have you been? Is El okay?"
Joyce didn't reply, just bit her lip.
"What's wrong?" He asked her, holding her warm hand
"I-" She began to cry "Nothing's been okay."
"What do you mean?" He brought her into another hug. Once Joyce was able to stop crying, she started to explain
"Don't worry about El. She's been living with me-but-I-I did something stupid." Joyce wiped her tears away "I-One day, I got drunk, and let-Lonnie come back."
"Did he do anything to you? What about the kids?" He panicked
"I-Is Murray around?"
"No, why?"
She pulled her shirt off, which wasn't what she expected. At first, he thought Wow, she's hot, which he quickly shoved out of his head out when he realized how many bruises all over her body
"Oh, god Joyce. Did Lonnie do this to you?" He passed his hand over one of her bruises
"Y-Yes. The kids have these too." She admitted.
"Joyce, did he do this to you?" He held her wrist, which was wrapped up, and had obviously been cut.
"N-No. I did." Joyce looked down. No no no.
"Y-You mean...?"
"Yeah. After your 'death'." She started to tear up. To make her feel better, he brought her into another hug
"A-And, there's something else." Joyce muttered "Something that happened last night."
"Yeah?"
"Last night, Lonnie came home drunk, and made me-made me-"
She couldn't even finish, continuing to cry. He hated this. He hated Lonnie, not only for hurting Joyce, but for hurting the kids
"Joyce, that's illegal. He should be arrested for that."
"B-But he'll kill me if I go to the police." She looked up "Oh right, you are the police."
He chuckled, then said seriously "We need to go to the police. I won't let him hurt you. We have to get rid of him."
"But, we have no evidence."
"Your bruises are enough. And if the kids have the same bruises, that should be enough."
"I guess you're right." She smiled at him "I love you."
"I love you too."
"Are you guys done?" Murray asked from another room
"Yeah!" He called back, chuckling
When Murray came back into the room, he asked "Do you guys want dinner?"
"Um..."
"You guys can sleep here for the night, it's almost 7:00."
They decided to stay, and they ate dinner together, kinda feeling awkward, since Murray was there. After dinner, he said "You can take the bed. I'll sleep on the couch."
"Oh, no no no. You are not sleeping on the couch, you're coming with me."
She grabbed him by the hand, and quickly brought him to the bedroom he had been staying in
"Wait, wait. Are you sure about this?" He asked her, anxious "I don't want to pressure you."
"Yes. I want this. Why do you think I took your clothes off that one time?" She said slyly
"Joyce Byers..." He smirked.
"Shirt off. Please?"
He did as she asked and pulled his shirt off. He never really thought himself as hot, so he quickly asked her "Are you sure?"
"Yes." She bit her lip "Do you even know how sexy you are?"
"You think I'm sexy? Have you looked in a mirror? Your gorgeous." He wasn't trying to flirt. He was just being honest
"H-Hop..." She giggled. Before he knew it, she too had pulled her shirt off, and now, he was trying to keep himself from staring.
"O-Oh my god." He muttered. Before either of them could say anything, Joyce pulled him closer to her, beginning to kiss him all over. Eventually, they ended up on the bed, him desperate for more kisses from her.
"God, you're a good kisser." She muttered as he kissed back, wrapping his arms once again around her small figure.
"Are you sure you want me to do this?" He asked her again, pulling away for a second "I don't want you to feel uncomfortable because of what Lonnie did to you."
"No, Hop, it's fine. I know you could never hurt me. And the difference is I want you to kiss me. I want you to hold me. I love you so much, Hop."
"I love you too, Joycie."
Suddenly, though, she began to cry
"Oh my god, what's wrong? Did I do something wrong?" He panicked again, since she had just randomly started crying
"I-It's just-No one even cared!"
"What do you mean?" He held her hand, trying to make her feel better
"No one cared you were gone! It's stupid! All Hawkins thinks of you is just some guy who goes around sleeping with other girls! It's stupid! No one even cared!"
"Hey. Hey." He took her hand "That's all in the past. I don't care about that; I care about you."
She wiped away her tears "Sorry, it's just been a hard week."
He kissed her on the cheek "It's fine. I love you."
"I love you too." She kissed back, smiling. After what felt like hours of making out, they finally pulled away, him laying on top of her.
"God, I love you." He chuckled
"I love you too. Now come here and snuggle me." She muttered, smiling.
He smiled back, agreeing, and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her body close to him, kissing her on the cheek
"We have to go back there in the morning, don't we?" Joyce asked, scared. He knew she was scared about going back to where Lonnie was. Honestly, he was too. He was scared that either her or the kids would get hurt. He swore to himself that he wouldn't let that happened
"Yeah. But I won't let anything happen to you or the kids."
"My hero." She smiled "I love you."
"I love you too."
Joyce fell asleep, and after a few minutes of staring and smiling, he too fell asleep