[PSL] I'm counting the steps to the door of your heart

[hoponpop]

Who: Hopper (hoponpop) and Joyce (inthelamplight)
What: What happened between the closure of the gate and the dance
When: Close to the end of season 2
Where: The store where Joyce works
Warnings: Should be nothing

Life has settled into a new normal: El has been placed in school, she's moved into his place in town, and administering the law in the county has returned to its ordinary dullness. Hopper spends one day on the weekends working on the cabin, trying to repair the damage El had caused during their argument. Other than that, though, things are pretty mundane. He tends to worry about El being left alone, and there's emotional recovery work for all of them to do, but at least he doesn't have to constantly worry that El will be discovered and taken. The emotional labor of worrying about her for the last year had taken more of a toll than he had been aware of until it was over.

Now he has his ordinary duties, but he has some free time this afternoon after following up on a report, and he decides to stop and see Joyce. There's really no reason he should desire to see her, in particular, besides the fact that they're friends with shared trauma, but surely that's good enough. He parks his truck and smokes a cigarette, then comes in the store.

Comments

[inthelamplight]

The bell on top of the door gently rings, reminding Joyce that it's high time to stash her book back under the register and screw on her very best customer service smile. Her breath catches in her throat when she sees, and the mechanical rictus turns into a genuine smile that reaches her eyes.

"Hop, how are things? Can I help you find something today?"

[hoponpop]

"Everything's fine," he says, approaching the counter and standing across from her. "I'm actually here to check on you. We haven't really touched base in a while."

Considering the fact that the events that turned this town upside down—almost literally—are only a fortnight past, that's not entirely true. It's just that he's been so busy since the portal was closed that they haven't had a chance to speak in days.

[inthelamplight]

"Oh!" Joyce blinks several times, her smile appearing slightly strained and she exhales. "I'm fine, Hop," she lies, her voice cracking a bit.

"I'm tough." That was not a lie. "How is El? I've been meaning to visit, but my house is still a disaster area." She reaches a hand and places it over the one he has resting on the counter for a moment. The gesture felt natural to her. Even when Bob was alive, she and Hopper seemed magnetically drawn to one another, giving little touches on the hand, the elbow, the back -- gestures meant to convey comfort, guidance and caring. Not the same touches that were charged with electric need when they were younger, but just as vital.

[hoponpop]

"Don't be so tough you don't ask for help when you need it," he says, ignoring her question for the moment. "This is two years in a row where your place has been the center of all of the stuff going on." The suggestion is implicit—he and Bob both had helped her repair her place when it had undergone the damage last year, and it can't be too much different now.

[inthelamplight]

Joyce lets out a bitter laugh.

"I feel like I have to start having you on retainer for all the home repair stuff. I actually received a settlement from the lab this time around, so I could pay you if you wanted to look at a few things. The windows are what I'm having trouble with repairing, and getting someone out here for." She bites her lip and gives him a look.

"Technically, your kid busted my windows, so..." she teases.

[hoponpop]

"...that makes it my responsibility," he fills in, smirking at the jibe. He shakes his head. "I'll tell you what. Get the glass and the glazing compound and I'll do the labor." He doesn't really need the money that would be leftover after that, not like she does.

[inthelamplight]

"Only if you show me how it's done. I'm pretty good at DYI but I've never mastered window replacement. My kids aren't exactly sporty so I've never had to deal with shattered windows. Not like your dad did when we used to play softball in your yard."