Playing House - [Jopper] ✓

Honey

"Oh C'mon kid. Was that necessary? I thought we had ground rules." Hopper groaned as he shielded himself from being covered in pee. As quickly as he could remember, he covered the baby with a cloth so he wouldn't be in the 'splash zone' as Joyce called it.

"Joyce, can you grab me a clean shirt?" Hopper called as he finished up the diaper. As he waited for her, he pulled his shirt off and balled it up.

She tried not to be too stunned when she saw him without his shirt on. He definitely had the sexy dad bod' down.

"Thanks, Honey." Hopper said mindlessly as he slipped the clean henley over his torso. Joyce tried to avoid the pang in her heart when he called her 'honey' but it wasn't going anywhere.

"Someone got stuck in the splash zone." She laughed as she picked Will up off the changing table.

"Me and him established ground rules. No peeing on me during diaper changes, but he's a boy. Boys don't believe in rules." Hopper laughed as he threw the dirty diaper in the trash.

"Isn't that the truth. You hated following rules in school." Joyce laughed and raised an eyebrow at him.

"I got caught once. It was one cigarette and it wasn't even mine." Hopper pleaded to no avail.

"Mhm. That's why I caught you smoking it under the stairs outside." Joyce laughed.

"For the record, you didn't stop me. You joined in. Equally at fault here." Hopper replied with a laugh as he walked out of the nursery with her.

"Why don't you go take a nap, Hop. You look exhausted. You can sleep in my bed." Joyce said as she ran her palm over his cheek.

Well... he was tired. "Are you sure?" He asked nervously.

"Of course. Will and Jonathan are gonna go down for a nap anyways and I've got laundry to do. Go take a rest." Joyce smiled.

"Will you wake me up if you need me?" Hopper asked with concern. He knew she probably wouldn't.

"Absolutely. I'll wake you up for dinner. Go on, you need some sleep. It's my turn to take care of you." She giggled as she nudged him towards her room.

"Alright. Thank you." Hopper said as he patted her shoulder and found his way to her room.

--

Hopper wasn't sure how long he had slept when he finally came to. All he could focus on was the warm body under his arm. As soon as he realized he wasn't alone, his eyes flickered open.

Joyce was sound asleep under his arm with her nose pressed into his chest. Hop smiled, she looked so peaceful with a small smile on her face.

Will seemed to be asleep in the bassinet next to the bed and since the clock said four, he assumed Jonathan was napping. He could enjoy this a little longer.

He gently ran his hand through her hair, rubbing her head as she snuggled deeper into him. She looked beautiful as her eyelashes fluttered in her sleep.

Hopper pressed a small kiss to her forehead before letting his head fall back to his pillow. She was becoming a drug to him. He didn't know how he was going to live without her now.

It had taken less than four days and he was already used to seeing her every day. He was used to the smell of her hair when she hugged him. He was used to the way her eyes sparkled, even in the dark of night. He was used to bickering about who was gonna get up in the night to tend to Will. He was so used to this already.

Joyce stirred in her sleep as she started to wake up. She looked up at Hopper as he eyes opened slowly.

"Hey." She said quietly with a soft smile.

"Hey." Hopper replied in the same quiet tone. Well, at least it wasn't awkward. "Is Jonathan asleep?" He asked as he continued to pet her hair.

"Yeah, he went down about two hours ago. I didn't mean to disturb you, I was putting laundry away and I figured I'd lay down while everyone was asleep." Joyce said as she started to look guilty.

"Don't worry about it, you didn't wake me. I was wondering if I could treat you and the kids to a burger at Benny's tonight?" Hopper asked, not bothering to stop rubbing her head.

"Are you sure? I'm sure Jonathan will be over the moon about that." Joyce giggled.

"Yeah, I think we all need a few minutes out of the house. Don't you think?" Hop asked.

"I think that's a good idea. I'll go get Jonathan up so we can go." Joyce said as she slipped out of bed.

--

"Chief! Byers family! What's the occasion?" Benny asked as he flipped a towel over his shoulder.

"A good ole' Benny burger sounded good." Hopper laughed as he patted Benny's shoulder with one hand and carried Will's carrier in the other.

Benny tried to choose his words carefully. He heard through the grapevine that Lonnie was gone but why Hopper was with them? That was the mystery.

"There's always time for Benny Burgers. What can I get you?" He asked as he took out his order booklet.

"Whats on the menu for you, kiddo?" Hop asked Jonathan.

"Hotdog! With fries please." Jonathan said politely.

"He'll have a chocolate milk with that too. Can I have a cheeseburger, no onions, with fries and a Coke?" Joyce asked as she handed her and Jonathan's menu back.

"Sounds good. For you chief?" Benny asked.

"Cheeseburger, No tomatoes, fries, and a coke. Thanks, Ben." Hopper finished and handed his menu.

Benny came back with the drinks and glanced at Hopper. "Chief, can I talk to you for a second. I've got a question I meant to ask you last week." He lied as he cocked his head towards the kitchen.

Hopper stepped out of the booth and followed him out of Joyce's earshot.

Benny leaned against the stove and crossed his arms, pausing before speaking. "...really?"

"It's not what you think. She needed help and I stepped up so she could get some sleep. Nothing is happening." Hopper groaned.

"Jimmy, you walk in here with a wife and two kids. People are gonna talk." Benny said in an exasperated tone.

"She's not my wife, it looks that way, yes, but I'm just helping her out." Hopper defended.

"Just promise me this isn't a ploy to get her into bed, Hop. Because that would be low, even for you." Benny said with his brows raised.

"Absolutely not. Not with Joyce. She's too good for that." Hopper sighed as he walked back to his seat.

When Joyce asked him what that was all about, he muttered something about property lines and kept his eyes focused on his drink.

"She's not my wife"