they were still learning. learning how to exist around each other, how to share the same space, how to be a family. & hopper worried more often than not about forcing his way into a spot the boys didn't want him in. jon . . . well, jon wasn't much of a worry to him. they seemed to mesh together well. will on the other hand ... that was who he worried about. not in the same ways joyce did, no, hop was fairly certain that at this point the boy could handle himself. had proved it, hadn't he ? sleep didn't come easy to any of them it seemed. not for a long time now, but especially with the current state of their town. the ground red & angry from henry -- vecna -- 001, whatever the hell they were calling him today. the entire crew had been knocking their heads together for weeks now & have yet to come up with a viable plan. it was making tensions high. it's why he found himself up before the rest of the family this morning, puttering around the small kitchen of the even smaller cabin ( especially for a family of five trying to inhabit it ). they'd need resources soon. running low on instant coffee & oatmeal he tells himself, making mental note of a grocery list he should write down later.
behind him, he hears movement in the living room. one of the boys were up. glancing over his shoulder, he sees will sitting up & rubbing sleep from his eyes. " mornin' kid. " his own voice still rough with sleep. " hungry ? ain't got much right now but i think i can whip up some waffles with the mix we have left ... "
@byersarchives ♡'d