𝓟𝓵𝓮𝓪𝓼𝓮 𝓢𝓽𝓪𝔂 *{𝓐 𝓙𝓸𝓹𝓹𝓮𝓻 𝓢𝓽𝓸𝓻𝔂}*

January

(Hopper's POV)

With his eyes opening in the morning, he looked behind him and saw Joyce still asleep, holding him in her arms. Yes, he had been the small spoon. Shut up
Joyce then woke up, and smiled at him, "You're so cute."
"Why thank you." He chuckled, Joyce snuggling closer into his back
"God, I've really made you soft, haven't I?" Joyce kissed the back of his neck, most likely leaving another mark
"Well, I don't mind at all. I like being soft." He admitted, kissing her back
"Should we get up?"
"Yeah-but-I don't wanna..." He whined, holding onto her warm body
"Babe! Let me go...!"
"Fine..." He sighed and let her go
"Thank you." Joyce kissed his forehead, beginning to change, letting him stare, since he knew she could tell that his eyes were on her
When he finally pulled his eyes off of Joyce and put his clothes on, he went to get the kids up, and found that they were already up, packing their bags
"You guys seem excited." He chuckled, fluffing El's hair
"Stop..." El muttered, trying to flatten her hair, though smiling
"Of course we're excited. Half day!" Will exclaimed, smiling, and surprisingly wearing some good clothes, including his jean jacket, which was unusual, considering it was a school day
"You look very snazzy. Anything special today?" He asked Will, shooting Joyce a smile as she came in
"N-No-Wh-Why?" Will asked in an oddly nervous way, almost as if he was scared of being caught, for some reason
"No reason, just thought you looked good." Will was acting strange, that he knew. But the reason he didn't know. Did he do something? Was Will just caught off guard? God, being a parent was hard. How had Joyce done this for almost 15 years straight?
Ignoring the awkwardness, he and Joyce started on breakfast, no one really talking until breakfast was done and they were getting into the car
"Do you guys need me to pick you guys up?" He asked, making sure they were all seated and buckled in before turning the car on
"N-No!" Will exclaimed quickly, then went quiet
"Oh, how come?" He turned to look at Will, seeing if reading his face made it any clearer. Nope, not really.
"I-Just because we're going to Mike's house! Right, El?" Will looked to his sister
"But I thought-"
"-Anyway, yeah, we're going to Mike's after school."
Will was lying. He could tell. El was about to say something about that not being the truth, because 'friend's don't lie' or whatever the saying was. But why would Will lie? Was the Mind Flayer back? What the hell was going on with his kid?!
The drive to drop off Will and El was just as awkward as breakfast, and, though he loved them, he couldn't have been happier when Will and El got out of the car, getting rid of that awkward feeling
"What was that about?" Joyce asked as he started to drive away from the high school, music quietly playing in the background
"No idea."
After dropping off Joyce at work, that took longer than he thought it would because Joyce wanting to give him more kisses, even if it made her late, but once they pulled away from each other, of which was getting harder and harder, he drove to work, just to find that there was but one case to work on, and Powell was already there, and since it wasn't a big case, he was sure by now there wasn't anything much to do. And, sure enough, it was just some idiot 19 year old's trespassing, but since they were obviously drunk, he had them taken back to the station, even though they wouldn't get arrested, just a fine and that would be it, but, somehow, he still ended up with the paperwork. Of course.
Just as he was starting on another case's paperwork, his phone rang, making him almost jump out of his chair
"Hello, Chief Hopp-"
"Hop, you should know by now I'm the only one who calls you." Joyce's voice made him quickly forget about all the work he had to do, purely mesmerized.
"I know." He chuckled.
"Hey, do you think Will was acting strange earlier?"
"Yeah." He ran his fingers through his dirty blonde hair, "I'm glad I'm not the only one."
"Do you think we should ask him?" He asked
"Probably. What do you think's going on?"
"No idea." He said, a hint of a smile coming out for no reason
"I can hear that smile in your voice, Hop. What's making you happy?" Joyce asked
"Nothing, just thinking about how the most amazing girl in the world loves me. Also about how much I wanna kiss you right now."
"Well, come over, maybe we can." Joyce said, being seductive and giggly at the same time, "Also, side note, can you bring food? I'm starving?"
He chuckled, "Of course."
With that, he abandoned his work, and even if there was probably more to work on, he needed to kiss his girlfriend, and picked them up two sandwiches, then proceeded to walk to Melvands, ignoring how chilly it was, since he'd stupidly forgot his jacket at home.
"Hey." The second he arrived at Melvands, he looked to make sure no one was around, then kissed Joyce
"Someone's excited." Joyce giggled
"Extremely." He muttered against her skin
"I'll let you kiss me;" Joyce pulled him off her, much to his disappointment, "But only if you feed me."
"Of course, I couldn't leave ya starving, could I?"
They sat down at their usual spot, eating and chatting until he noticed Joyce had some food stuck on her face, but instead of telling her, he just kissed her lower cheek
"W-What was that for?" Joyce asked, smiling nervously as her entire face went scarlet
"Oh, you just had some food on your face." He did the same move again, "You're very kissable, you know that?"
"Considering how many kisses you give me in a day, yes."
Finishing with lunch, they went back inside, since the cold was starting to get to them, even though Joyce had given him his jacket back, which she had because she had noticed that he forgot it when they had been getting into the car and grabbed it for him (best girlfriend ever, by the way). Since Joyce had no customers, they had started to talk about something he couldn't remember well enough, because at the moment, all of his focus was on Joyce. Her little smiles, her hands fidgeting, how she tucked her hair behind her ears when he flirted, and god so much more. He really was obsessed with her, but hey, he'd been in love with her since high school, so what was he expecting?
He was about to say some very cheesy pickup line when his walkie went off
"What?" He asked into it, his voice obviously portraying how annoyed he was
"Chief, we need you back at the station." One of the officer's said
"Why?"
"It's your son, William Byers."
Will? What the hell could Will have done?

(Joyce's POV)

The second she heard Will's name mentioned, her mom instincts kicked in, making her grab Hopper's arm and run to the police station, where she found Will and some other blonde-haired blue-eyed boy sitting next to each other in handcuffs
"What the hell is this?" She turned to one of the officers that she didn't actually recognize, "WHY THE HELL IS MY SON IN HANDCUFFS?!"
"Ma'am, I need you to stay calm."
"YOU HEARD HER! WHY THE HELL IS MY SON IN HANDCUFFS?!" Hopper yelled at the officer, putting his arms protectively around her and Will
"Chief, just listen."
She and Hopper went silent, and let the officer his chance to speak, just in the very odd chance Will had actually done something illegal
"Okay, what happened?" Hopper asked, attempting to be calm
"Your son was caught kissing this boy." The officer pointed to the blonde-haired boy, who rolled his eyes at the officer
"...AND? What else? Why the hell did you put them in handcuffs?" Hopper squeezed Will's shoulder, looking as if he was about to murder the officer.
"Chief-what else did he need to do? Your son's one of those peoples." The officer said the last words with disgust, making both of the boys' eyes begin to water
"What the hell did you just say?" Hop said in a dangerously low voice.
"Chief-"
"No-You will listen to me right now. You will never, EVER say that about my son again, okay?!" He raised his voice, even scaring her and Will
"But he is!"
"Yes, I KNOW! AND I STILL LOVE HIM! SO YOU WILL GIVE ME THE KEYS TO THESE HANDCUFFS, AND LET MY SON AND THIS BOY GO, UNDERSTAND?"
Wow. Hopper had really changed since he'd become Will's dad, and is now ready to murder anyone that hurt them even more.
The officer gave Hopper the keys to both of the boys' handcuffs reluctantly and walked out, grumbling to himself something about Hopper having gone soft, but she ignored him and just made sure Will was okay.
"Mom!" Will hugged her tightly once Hopper had freed him
"Will!" She kissed the top of her son's head, "Are you okay?"
"I am now." Will grinned
Awkwardly, the other coughed, then said, "Um-Hi-Sorry-"
"No, it's fine." She smiled at the boy, "What's your name?"
"C-Connor." The boy muttered, too scared to look at Hopper, who she was sure looked big and menacing to this poor kid.
"Hey, don't worry." Hopper smiled at Connor, "We don't bite. Especially not her."
"Shut up, Jim." She rolled her eyes at him, then looked back at Connor, "But he's right, we don't bite."
"So-Um-" Hop coughed, "Are you two-like-have you-"
"We're dating." Will said, happily taking Connor's hand in his, making both boys blush lightly
"So this was what you were up to." Hopper chuckled, "Will, you do know you could've just told us, right?"
"I know-but Connor's parents are really homophobic, we weren't telling anyone just in case they found out somehow."
"Oh, I-I'm so sorry." She apologized, feeling awkward
"It's fine." Connor finally smiled at her and Hopper.
"How about we take the two of you home?" She suggested
"Sure, but what about the others?" Will asked, still holding onto his boyfriend.
"It's about 3:00, they should be home by now." She told them
The drive home was awkward, to say the least. Her and Hopper tried to make conversation, but at least they both knew the position that Will and Connor were in. She remembered the time that she and Hopper had been caught doing god knows what by their parents and knew how awkward it had been sitting in the back seats while they drove them back to the house, and she was sure it was the same for Will and Connor, but unlike them, they were actually able to speak. She found that Connor was actually quite a charming young boy, who though was outgoing and extroverted, the complete opposite of Will, had a lot in common with Will. They both loved art and D&D, and had met in their art class, when Connor complimented the painting he was making. It had been like love at first sight for both of them, as Will described it, which made her chuckle. Here was the boy who had insisted he'd never fall in love, not only having a boyfriend, but giggling, blushing, and even kissing Connor on the cheek! As Will's mom, she couldn't have been prouder that he had found himself what seemed to be the perfect boyfriend for himself
When they arrived home, they found the kids sitting on the couch, talking about something, but their arrival interrupted them
"Will! Hey, where were you?" Mike exclaimed when Will and Connor came into view from behind her and Hop
"Oh-I was-" Will took a deep breath, and wrapped one of his arms around Connor, "I was with Connor. Everyone, meet my boyfriend; Connor."
The emotions that came out of the kids, or at least their friends, were mostly confusion, but none of them were really mad or anything; honestly, they didn't really mind or care, which in this case was good, letting Will and Connor explain what had happened.
"Wow, you got arrested?" Dustin asked, in awe, "What was it like?"
"Kinda scary. Thought I was actually gonna go to jail for a sec, but good news is, I didn't." Will joked, with Connor being the quiet one in the situation.
"Y-You're not gonna call my parents, right? They-They'd kill me if they found out." Connor nervously asked her and Hopper
"No, of course not." She assured him, trying to make him feel better, "You can sleep here for the night."
"He can sleep with me." Will inserted in
She could tell Hop was about to object to his son sleeping in the same bed as someone else, but she quickly whispered in his ear, "They can't get each other pregnant."
"Okay, sure!" Hopper agreed, making her smile a little
They let the kids run off to their bedrooms, with their friends being called home by their parents, and leaving her and Hop alone.
"You are so happy right now." Hopper teased her
"Yes, obviously." She grinned, "I'm his mom, of course I'm gonna be happy."
Hopper glanced at Will's bedroom door, where Will and Connor had gone into, "I feel bad for Connor. He has to hide who he is from his parents."
"Yeah. But hey," She held his hand, "We can help him. Come on; if we can fight monsters, we can fight some stupid homophobic parents."
"I know, I just-what if we had to hide our relationship? Imagine that." Hop sighed, "This town sucks."
"Tell me about it. But hey, it's our home." She kissed our cheek, "I'm going to check on Connor and Will."
"'Kay."
She grabbed one of Will's blankets out of the washing machine for the two of them, and knocked on his bedroom door
"Come in!" Will called to her
"Hey..." She opened the door, and awkwardly set down the blanket, "You two need anything?"
"Nope." Will said
"Thank you, Mrs. Byers, for letting me stay here." Connor smiled to her
"Of course." She smiled back, then started to leave, "Just call if you need anything!"
A few hours of just sitting around with Hopper, unsure of what to really do, later, she started on dinner, Hopper still secretly snooping on Will and Connor.
"Jim, leave them alone." She said from the kitchen, "What if they did that to us?"
"I know, I know, but hey, they probably do, so..." Hopper lifted himself up onto the counter
"Jesus, do you always have to be taller than me?" She jokingly asked, reheating the casserole from the night before
"Yes. The height difference is nice. Also-" He kissed her on the head, "I can do this."
"You're such a dork, Jim Hopper." She rolled her eyes, smiling
"I love you, Joyce Byers." He smiled back lovingly, ruffling her hair
"Stop..." She flattened her hair, secretly enjoying it
Only minutes later, she called to her kids and Connor, "Dinner's ready!"
All the kids sat down, with an awkward silence falling upon the group, and it stayed like that for the beginning of the dinner. She wasn't sure what to say. That day had been too crazy, and she wasn't sure what to ask. Connor and Will were silent too, looking at the other one a few time.
Thank god Hopper finally broke that silence, and asked, "So, how was school?"
Just as Will was about to tell them about some science test he'd had that day, Jonathan came in, looking tired and dropping his bag on the ground
"Sorry I'm late." Jonathan apologized as he sat down next to Hopper, "I have a test tomorrow that I had to cram for.
"It's fine." She assured her son
"Who's this?" Jonathan asked when he spotted Connor
"Ahem. Connor, this is Jonathan, my oldest son. Jonathan, this is Connor, Will's boyfriend."
"Oh! I-Uh-Nice to meet you." Jonathan and Connor awkwardly shook hands, then he asked, "So, how did you two meet?"
Will and Connor told Jonathan the same story as they had told them, this time adding in the whole thing about getting arrested in.
By the end of the story, Jonathan was both smiling and a bit shocked
"W-Wow. You two must really like each other." Was the first thing Jonathan said
"Yeah," Will pecked Connor's cheek with a kiss, "we do."
As soon as dinner was over, they all went back to their bedrooms, some of them needing to finish homework, the rest of them tired from the chaotic day they just had. But just as she was lying down next to Hopper in bed, she heard crying coming from Will's room, so in true motherly fashion, she pressed her ear against the wall, and listened
"I-I'm scared, Will. What if my parents find me? Find us?" Connor choked out the question
"We can just say we had a project to do." Will assured his boyfriend, then by the sound of it, gave him a kiss, "The door's are locked, so they won't find us sleeping together, and I can promise you my parents won't let them hurt you, and neither will I."
"T-Thanks, I-I'm just scared they'll hurt us."
"Hey, you don't have to worry about me, Connor, and I won't let them hurt you. You matter too much to me. Connor-I-I've never said this to anyone, but-I love you, Connor. You're so special to me."
"I love you too, Will."

(Hopper's POV)

When Joyce pulled away from listening to their son, she had a huge grin on her face
"What? Are they having sex?" He asked, half joking, half serious
"Will just said his first I love you!" Joyce said in what was practically a squeal
"Oh my god, I'm so proud!" He said in the same tone as her, and let her snuggle onto his chest, "Hear anything else?"
"Yeah, actually." Joyce bit her lip, "Connor said he was scared his parents were gonna hurt him if they found out"
"Oh Jesus." He sighed, "Do you think we should ask him? You know, to keep him safe?"
"Yeah, defiantly."
And with that decision made, they went to sleep, hopeful they could help Connor out of a situation they both knew too well

"CONNOR? CONNOR! OPEN THIS DOOR NOW!"
He woke up to someone knocking loudly on the front door.
"What the hell...?" He muttered, sitting up.
He lazily threw on a shirt and better pants, so he looked decent, and came out of his and Joyce's bedroom, with a tired Joyce following behind
"What's going on?" Joyce asked with a yawn
"M-My p-parents." Connor stammered out, being held in the arms of Will, who was running his fingers through his boyfriend's blonde hair
"Hey-It's gonna be okay. It's gonna be okay..." Will assured Connor.
"Will's right, you're gonna be okay. Both of you are." He told them, "I'll get rid of them."
"No, I-I'm gonna have to go back home." Connor said, pulling a bit away from Will.
"No-Connor-They'll hurt you." Will insisted.
"Will." Connor smiled at Will, and kissed his cheek, "I'll be okay, I promise."
Connor nodded to him, telling him to open the door, and he did so
"Finally!" Whom he assumed was Connor's mom exclaimed, "Where's my son?"
"Right here, ma'am. Sorry about this, him and my son had a project they had to work on."
He wasn't sure if his lying was able to convince Connor's mom, but she didn't comment and came inside
"Next time, call when you're staying at someone's house." Connor's mom scolded him, grabbing his arm
"Yes, ma'am." Connor muttered
None of them could do anything. Will obviously wanted, but he and Joyce held him to keep him from doing anything stupid.
When they door closed behind Connor and his mom, Will looked to him, "He's gonna be okay, right?"
"Yes. I won't let anything happen." He promised his son
"Thanks, dad." Will smiled, scared but knowing that everything will be okay.