Smoke -- Jim Hopper

57. YOU'RE A DINGUS

Also so SAD my gifs r so picky they either work or they don't smh

For Alexei's Russian unless it's simple words like the example below I'm just going to use the actual Russian word if that makes sense??

English: Yes Russian: Da

sooooo to keep with hop being an ass in this, naturally, Natalie is too and they have their first wonderfully fun fight. No relationship is all sunshine and lollipops, so yeah. They still love each other, but they really dig into each other in this chapter. Tbh I like writing these types of things better than fluff lol

Natalie channeled some big Murray energy (that wonderful scene where Murray tells Joyce and Hop to bone lol, gold)

not edited

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Natalie had been driving for hours in the woods, which was actually really hard. Jim kept shouting at her and Joyce kept shouting at him. The Russian guy whose name Joyce found out was Alexei looked pretty horrified. To be honest, Natalie was pretty much at the end of her rope with patience.

"Natalie, hey, are you listening?" Jim said leaning forward, "you can't push the gas like that or we're going to stall!"

"I am not pushing on the gas, Jim, the engine is being weird," she said through clenched teeth, extremely irritated.

"Maybe we need to take a break," Joyce suggested, putting her hands above her head and exhaling deeply.

"No, not with that fucking psycho after us, Natalie put the car into first gear and try again," Jim said, his tone serious.

Natalie turned around in her seat, eyes narrowed, "you know what, why don't you try this time Jim? Because no matter how many times I put this car in first gear it always seems to be wrong."

Jim rolled his eyes, "you're being dramatic, we literally cannot stay here any longer. That guy no doubt is tracking us-"

"Oh really? I had no idea!" Natalie snapped, "none of us have slept in the past twenty-four hours and I am pregnant! Pregnant, Jim. How do you think I feel right now, not fucking peachy that's for sure."

Joyce stepped out of the car, "everyone needs to get out of the car, we can't argue about this anymore. We just need a breather and come back with level heads."

Jim tugged on the handcuffs, "C' mon Smirnoff," he growled and Alexei stumbled out after him. Jim quickly pulled out his cuff keys and unlocked himself from Alexei and pushed Alexei towards a tree and cuffed him around it.

Natalie crossed her arms and scoffed, "geez, you know I don't think he's going to run away."

Jim bitterly laughed, "cool it with the attitude."

"Oh yeah," she said with her head tilted, "why don't you make me?"

"Hopper, leave her alone. Take a look at the damn car and cool down. Natalie, talk to Alexei okay?" Joyce instructed, clearly getting to the end of her rope too.

Natalie huffed and walked over to Alexei who cautiously smiled at her. She smiled back and leaned against the tree he was cuffed too.

"So, you know anything about magnets? That one over there is crazy about them," she said pointing at Joyce.

Alexei shook his head, "Magnet?" he repeated, his accent heavy.

She nodded, "yeah you stick them to your fridge? Or icebox?" she pretended to put a magnet on a fridge.

Alexei nodded smiling, "da," he pointed to her stomach, "беременная?"

"Oh, no I don't mean being pregnant," Natalie said with a small laugh, which in turn made Alexei laugh too. His smile was wide as he continued to point at her stomach. He must have recognized the English word for pregnant when she was yelling at Jim in the car.