felicity sat way too close to home for hopper to know her beyond their shared interest in the munson boy. the chief picked the wayward kid up a couple of times on his shift only to drop him at this very doorstep. he wasn't worried about the trouble eddie got caught up in. he was a product of a small town with little resources to do much better than his relations had before him. even jim when he was that age had sports to fall back on, and he still ended up right back where he started. ms. pierce he hadn't quite figured out. she had a good heart clearly, but other than knowing her as munson's guardian angel and a school teacher, hopper steered clear of her in social settings. it wasn't because he didn't think he would like her. it just kept things... safe. hopper worked, he relaxed with a few beers, and he socialized with others he didn't have to see on the day to day basis. then came these little surprises. he didn't want to be anyone's project. that's what he wanted to explain to her, but the longer he stood outside her door, the more he realized how crazy he was going to sound. jim cursed under his breath and turned to leave. the call of the open door brought him back with a sheepish expression. he was turning the brim of his hat in his hands kind of like a sheriff in an old western tv show. you'd think he had come to tell her that her husband had been lost to a saloon brawl. he had to get it together. wiping his big hand down the front of his face, hopper forced a customary smile. tight lipped with a bob of his head in greeting.
"good morning, ms. pierce. that sounds great, but i'm really running late. uh, i just wanted to drop off that dish you left for me--kindly, you kindly left for me. it was uhm real sweet of you and everything. you know, but you don't have to trouble yourself. i'm sure you have plenty to worry about without uh... making the trip and everything..." he said that already. shit. hopper shifted his weight to the foot he'd to step in her kind offering and the reminder made him chuckle. "you wouldn't be trying to bribe me by any chance, would you?" it was an attempt at teasing, but he only begun to consider the possibility. maybe he was on his way in to a storm at the office. there was no telling what the kids of hawkins got up to last night while he was off-duty, and it was likely he would find a stack of paperwork on his desk concerning eddie. his laughter trailed off. remembering he left the casserole dish in his truck, jim glanced over his shoulder back to where he'd parked in the street. "i'll go get that, uh, thing for you. i guess i didn't wake up fully yet before jetting over. just one second." he marched back to the passenger side and fished out the uncleaned dish. freezing in the window of his truck, he briefly thought about fleeing the scene to save himself the embarrassment of returning a dirty plate back to her. hopped closed his eyes and summoned patience. making a slow trek back to her door, he held the dish in two hands with his head slightly stooped. "you know, i think i will come in for some coffee," he said with a strained grin. "i didn't realize i hadn't washed this and what kind of boy did my mother raise with these kind of manners, huh? if you don't mind me using your sink, that is?"
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