Oberprotective Jonathan? Cinnamon roll? Guy whos onky weapon is his cool girlfriend nancy walk them down wheeler?
Yea, everybody was suprised by that.
Dustin, Lucas and will made "the shovel talk". Mike sitted in his basemant and was like "o my godz he doesnt look like me, wasnt i even in her type?" Then he remebered why they broke up, and that he wants will and duffers ghosts left him, so he joined "Els heart protection team" To fight with El's boyfriend if he would be asshole.
Joyce finaky told El about flowers and bees, after Hopper begged her to do it. It wasnt really emabrassing, because El didnt know anything about it. Papa never told her about it, and when she got her period Hopper was to busy calming her down and telling her thst she wont die to realy explain it.
Back to protective older brother jonathan- he will drive el to her new boyfriend, but he will give the boy the most scary look thst he can make, he will told him thst if el doesnt come back home at 9, he will finde him and will do thing to him. He will pet el on head, and say "bye, have fun" with smile but when she will turn around he will run his ginger across his throat with dead eyes. He isnt playing.
Max will make fun of boys, but she is a little bit jealous because new boyfriend is taking el time, and she is her only girl friend. They still spend time together but Max is a little bit jealous .
Lucas would be the Best of them all. He would support El, give her good advices and be friendly with new boyfriend.
Dustin and Will would spy on him, and when they wouldnt finde anything weird, they would complain about his tooth brush choice o how boring his hobbys are.
Nancy would help el choose clothes for date, but when she meets that boy and she doesnt like him at first, the next time they meet she would bring gun with her and show it to the boy to threat him.
Steve isnt better at all. He would be friendly at first, but if he doesnt like the boy, whenever el isint around he would make blackmail.
"You didnt compliment her dress. Next time you will, or i will send all of tour friends your picures from 5th grade. You would want that Greg? Would you?"
i need more eleven and steve with a sibling bond and hopper as steve's adoptive dad pls! steve deserves to have a loving family and steve hopper just hits different yk? plus i love steve and eleven being protective over each other 🤧
tysm !!
UGH I LOVE IT!!!! This is from Hopper's point of view, hope that is okay. It just felt like it needed to be? This was so good to explore. I definitely want to explore Steve and El being overprotective siblings more in the future, even if it's just in the background. I hope you love this! - Mickala ❤️
This was the third party he busted at the Harrington residence in as many weeks.
Steve just didn’t seem to get the picture that he was watching over him.
See, Jim Hopper was far from an idiot.
He knew that Steve was left alone a lot since the too-young age of 11.
He knew that Steve was popular at school.
He knew that rich, popular kids with empty houses usually threw parties.
And it was kind of like Steve wanted him to break these up at this point.
He wasn’t changing the time, the location, the invitees, anything.
All it took was Hopper driving by the first time, and he was in on it all.
Steve was expected to throw these parties, Hopper was expected to break them up. So it goes.
And if that’s what Steve needed from him to keep up his appearances as a “cool kid”, then he could do that.
“Steve.”
“Chief! You wanna come in?”
Steve was slurring his words, his eyes unable to focus on anything.
He was drunk.
He hadn’t been the last two times Hopper broke up the parties. In fact, he’d been in complete control and sober.
Something was wrong.
Steve throwing a party he shouldn’t be was one thing. Steve being wasted at said party was another entirely.
“Uh no. I’d like everyone to leave though.”
“I can’t! This is my house,” Steve giggled.
God, he didn’t get paid enough for this.
“Alright. I’m gonna get everyone out of here. You go shut off the music and drink some water.”
“But then I have to think about stuff.”
Jesus fucking Christ.
He was well aware of how neglected Steve was for most of his life. His parents threw money at nannies that barely did their job, and then threw money at Steve like that was the equivalent of love.
The only person who showed him love was Nancy.
“Where’s Nancy?”
“Oh she broke up with me. Said I was bullshit and we were bullshit and then she left with Jonathan because he’s not bullshit.”
That was. A lot to unpack. He didn’t have time though.
“Steve. I need you to focus okay? I need you to shut the music off so I can tell everyone to go. Then you need to go to your kitchen and drink at least a full glass of water. Make sense?”
“Sure thing, Chief!”
He stumbled away, possibly in the wrong direction, but Hopper didn’t really care so long as he got this shut down.
As he walked through the living room and dining area, he told kids they had five minutes to be gone or he was calling their parents.
They scattered quickly; They knew he wasn’t messing around.
He did the same with the kids on the stairs, the kids in the hall, and the kids in the kitchen.
Finally, the music shut off and more kids came running downstairs. When they spotted Hopper, they kept scampering right out the front door.
He figured the rest were probably in bedrooms or hiding in the backyard, and he needed to check on Steve again first.
Steve was standing at the back door, leaning against the wall with his eyes closed.
“Steve?”
“Just need a minute.”
“Okay, kid.”
Hopper took the chance to open the back door and yell to everyone that if they weren’t off the property in two minutes, he was arresting them all for trespassing.
It wouldn’t hold up, not with how many of these kids had parents with money for good lawyers, but it scared them.
He walked around the house, checking each room to ensure it was empty.
By the time he got back to Steve, he was passed out on the couch.
Hopper made sure he was on his side, blanket covering him, and a glass of water on the coffee table in front of him.
As he did the bare minimum to make sure Steve stayed alive, he had to wonder when the last time someone actually took care of Steve was.
————-
Steve started coming around to pick up and drop off El.
He was the designated soccer mom apparently, always bringing the kids where they needed to go: the arcade, the mall, the movies, the park.
He seemed to do it every day, no complaints.
El loved Steve.
She came home with a skip in her step, a smile on her face.
If he asked her how everyone was, her first response was always “Steve’s great.”
He’d be worried about it being a crush if she wasn’t stupidly in love with Mike. He’d almost prefer Steve.
But El just latched onto Steve in a different way. Like he was a protective older brother who made stupid jokes to make her laugh, but also argued with her over the radio.
Hopper was still worried about Steve. He graduated, but he was starting a summer job soon. A job that would leave him unavailable most days.
Hopper wasn’t a fan of this, and if he were rich, he probably would have offered Steve money to just be the kids’ chauffeur all day every day.
Within a week of his new job, El was barely leaving the house.
Hopper offered to drive her places before his shifts and she refused.
She didn’t even want to visit Steve at work.
Hopper didn’t mind paying him a visit, though.
“Hey, Hop. Everything okay?” Steve greeted.
“Just fine. You?”
“Any day in this uniform is another day I lose dignity, so.”
Hopper hid a smile.
The kid was funny, even if he didn’t mean to be.
“Got a favor to ask. El’s been pretty bummed about you starting this job and not spending much time with her and the others. Think you could take them somewhere your next day off? I could give you gas money.”
“Oh! Yeah. I don’t need gas money, though. The fair’s in town in two weeks, so I figured I’d take them all.”
“Great! Uh,” he cleared his throat, worried he seemed too excited. “I’ll tell El.”
“Awesome.”
But if Hopper knew what the fair had in store for all of them, he would have made them all stay home. He would’ve stayed home.
—————
After Vecna, Hopper had a lot of clean up to do.
He knew he left a mess, but he had no idea how much that mess exploded while he was gone.
El would barely leave his side. She sometimes sat at Max’s bedside in the hospital, but only if Steve sat with her. Then, she was right back home sticking close to his side.
He was grateful for Steve, truly.
He would show up every other day at the same time, give El a long hug, tease her about something stupid that made her crack a smile, and then bribe her to leave so Hopper could have some time to himself.
You’d think spending so long away would make him want to always be surrounded by the ones he loved, but not quite.
When Steve brought her back, she seemed lighter. Not relaxed, but like she’d been able to experience being a teenager. Just regular things.
Steve told him he brought her to get ice cream sometimes, sometimes they’d just drive around singing to songs on the radio, sometimes they’d walk around the quarry trail and try to find butterflies and birds.
He didn’t care what they did.
He knew she was safe with Steve.
—————-
When Eddie Munson’s name was cleared, they all had a party at Steve’s house.
A party that happened during daylight hours and was mostly children and their parents.
Quite a turn of events for Steve Harrington.
But most importantly, he let El help plan the whole thing.
She needed a distraction since Max was still not awake, and the only person who knew what would help was Steve.
They planned board games, and food, and they cleaned the pool together in case anyone wanted to swim.
“Steve. You are being very silly,” El said with a frown as Steve put a party hat on his own head.
“It’s a party! We’re supposed to be silly,” Steve replied, leaning over to place a party hat on her head.
Hopper watched fondly as El smiled.
“Purple is my favorite color.”
“I know. That’s why I picked it.”
Steve was a good kid. He was a good adopted brother to El.
And Hopper could admit now that he was beyond just seeing Steve as a kid he watched out for the best he could.
Steve was more like a son to him than he probably was to his actual parents, more like a brother to El than even Will or Jonathan were.
He watched as Steve pulled El into a hug and started swaying back and forth, dancing.
El was laughing. Steve was laughing. Light and carefree were words seldom used to describe either of them, but when they were together, Steve and El were like the children they never really got to be.
“Steve, can I talk to you?”
Hopper wasn’t really big on emotions. He felt them, just like everyone did, but he didn’t talk about them.
But Steve needed to hear this, he needed to know that someone loved him and believed he was good.
El smiled and went outside to see if Robin and Nancy needed any help with anything there.
“Everything okay?”
“Yeah. I just…” Hopper pulled Steve into a hug.
It was awkward, maybe a little forced at first, but the moment Steve sank into it, Hopper pulled him in tighter.
“I love you, kid. You know that, right? I’ve been takin’ care of you, watchin’ out for you the best I can for years. You don’t have to be the strong one all the time, okay?”
Steve let out a sob against his chest and Hopper felt the telltale burn in his throat that he was not far behind.
“You and El are my kids, you got that? I’m always gonna protect you both. El and I love ya so much.”
“Love you both,” Steve gasped out.
Hopper didn’t let go. He knew Steve needed this. He kind of needed it too.
But El walked in, frown on her face.
“Steve? Are you okay?”
Steve sniffled and tried to wipe his tears away without her noticing that he was crying, which just wasn’t going to work. She was too perceptive.
“I’m fine, El.”
“Are you hurt?”
“No! I’m really fine.”
El glanced at Hopper, his eyes red, but his face trying to remain strong and passive, like Steve had just started crying on him, not that he’d been the one to initiate the hug.
She looked back at Steve, who was starting to pull away from Hopper’s arms.
She quickly ran to them, Hopper’s arms pulling away to wrap around her now as she wrapped her own arms around Steve.
“Steve is our family, too?”
“Yeah, kid. He is.”
“Like my brother?”
“If you want me to be,” Steve said as he turned slightly in their arms.
“Of course. I love you like family.”
“I love you too, El.”
Hopper cleared his throat and pulled away.
“Alright, alright. Party’s starting soon. Guest of honor should be here any minute unless he got himself into trouble.”
“Do not be mean about Eddie. He is a very nice person to me and to Steve.”
Steve was blushing, looking down at the floor.
Uh oh.
Hopper knew that look.
“We’ll talk about that later, Harrington.”
“Yes, sir.”
El giggled and ran out the back door, dragging Steve with her.
The camaro gave a final jerk, its engine letting out a mournful wail as the car shuddered to a stop at the bottom of a hill. Billy let out a string of curses as he glanced down at the gas gauge. Empty.
Just his fucking luck the car that had brought him through literal hell would die in God fucking nowhere. Billy slammed his palms against the steering wheel in a flash of anger, he was trying to be better, but every once in a while, the old angry Billy popped out. Of course, after recent events, that side was showing up more and more.
With a final slap to the wheel, that left his palms stinging with a sick satisfaction, Billy pulled himself out of the car. As soon as he opened the door, a blast of fall air rushed into the camaro's cabin, sending Billy into a fit of shivers. He tugged his jacket closed and ruefully thought of Max- if she had been there, Billy had no doubt that she would mercilessly tease him for dressing like it was constantly summer time.
Unfortunately, she wasn't there with him, but back home. Hopefully asleep and safely tucked away from Neil's fists. He didn't want to consider what he had left her to face; and while Max always insisted that she was old enough to take care of herself, Billy only ever saw the twig with a board two sizes too big under her arm, always asking him to 'please, Billy. Teach me? I can do it this time!'
Fucking Max and her big fucking mouth.
He flinched away as something darted through the trees in a rush of snapping twigs. Great, now he had to deal with huge ass bears, Billy huffed and fiddled with the door. He debated whether it was better to walk and see how far it took to get to town or whether there was a high possibility of a car coming across him. He glanced meaningfully down the road in both directions, but when no cars magically appeared, Billy sighed in resignation.
Walking it was.
He stopped his internal juggling and yanked the door open. He'd take his chances with the bear over starvation, and as he leaned down to grab the spare coat and emergency blanket, Billy saw something shiny reflecting against the beams of the camaro. Curiously, Billy leaned over, flicking the high beams on to get a better look.
Hawkins, Indiana
Population: 1053
'Welp, guess that makes 1054,' Billy shut the lights off and tucked the keys into his coat pocket before pulling on the spare one. It was only a jean jacket, but Billy always made sure to be prepared, his mom always said it was better to expect the unexpected. He never went anywhere without some kind of extra layer or fleece.
On the other hand, Billy figured his mom never really meant for the situation he faced now. Homeless, with only a pocket of lint to his name and a car with no gas, Billy wasn't even worth a dime.
The icing on the cake was being stuck in Hawkins fucking Indiana in the middle of fall.
Huffing, Billy stomped his way towards the town sign, his nerves on a tight wire with every noise that came from the woods. It was right fucking next to him and if he had to hear one more owl or twig snap, Billy was gonna lose his damn mind.
Bypassing the sign, Billy made it no more than a few steps before his entire world lit up. His vision went spotty, like a TV with no antenna. Raising a hand, Billy peered between his fingers, calmly wondering if this was how he was gonna meet his end. Murdered in butt fuck nowhere.
What a way to go. Neil would be so proud.
"The fuck you doing out here, kid?" A voice called out. It was gruff and deep, the tone oddly calming on Billy's frayed nerves.
"Uh-" he fumbled over himself, entirely unprepared for someone to actually be out at this time of night. His usual charm abandoning him in the face of the strangers headlights.
"Do you know what time it is?" When Billy didn't answer, the man hopped out of his truck, his high beams turning off, leaving them only in the warm glow of his day lights.
The decrease in light finally allowed Billy to see the person, well, the outline of them. The stranger stood tall, well over six feet, with broad shoulders and a thick chest. He had a hat on his head, the shape of it vaguely familiar. When Billy dragged his eyes down, he noticed an all too familiar logo on the man's car door.
Hawkins Police Department.
Fuck.
"- listening to me? Hey! Hey, kid!" Billy jolted, fumbling his car keys and jamming the end into his thumb.
His hands were shaking so bad Billy had to shove them into his pockets. His key stabbing a little deeper. "Yeah?" He finally croaked out, his sudden dry mouth making it impossible to form words.
The police officer closed his door with a slam, the metal screeching on rusted hinges. The noise was like a rebound affect, the owls that had been on his nerves not even ten minutes ago, were now as silent as a grave. The twigs he had heard snapping were now gone. "You got a name?" Billy swallowed the sudden flood of saliva.
Should he lie? Tell the truth? Did Neil's reach stretch this far East? No, it couldn't. But...he'd seen Neil find his mom before- before. He'd barely lifted a finger to track her down the one time she managed to escape. They had been in New England then. So who's to say he wouldn't? Should he trust this officer, who had only been out here hoping to catch late night speeders and underage kids? Lie or truth? Truth or lie? Heads or tails? Neil or this unsuspecting stranger?
"Billy," he gasped, praying it came across as the growl he tried to push out. He wasn't sure his forced posturing was bought. The officer looked suspicious, or maybe that was the trick of the light. Maybe Billy was seeing the way the man took a half step forward, half step back. A funky dance that went unfinished.
"Well Billy, why don't you come with me," Billy wasn't dumb. The guy hadn't offered his name nor his badge, which left a sour taste in the back of his throat.
"My car‐"
"We'll get it tomorrow. It's locked right?" He didn't wait for an answer. "It's freezing out here and it's only gonna get worse, kid, so move your ass and let's go. My shifts about over anyways."
Billy moved before he realized what was happening, his instincts demanding he comply. Slowly, cautiously, Billy edged his way around the side of the truck, keeping his eyes peeled for any sudden movement. He wouldn't be taken by surprise, not by this asshole.
The heat from the trucks cabin was a balm to Billy's chapped skin. He tried to swallow the relieved breath, muffling it behind a cough. He didn't even care about the mess of takeout wrappers and cigarette buds that littered the dash and floor. His own seat had a few coffee stained napkins that he had to brush to the floor.
"Sorry. Fuck." The guy lumbered in after Billy, rocking the cabin with his movement. The added weight had the truck groaning and sinking down by a few inches. 'What the fuck?'
"The name's Jim Hopper. I'm the chief of this town," he started the engine with an aggressive twist of his wrist. The car came alive with a groan, echoing Billy's own sentiments. "You hungry?"
I've been on hiatus for over 2 years, but I happened across this little gem in my Harringrove folders and decided to write a little. Comments and thoughts are always welcome.
You can find the original post here...
Instead of the whole Hargrove/Mayfield family coming to Hawkins, it's just Billy. Neil does get fed up and decides that Billy needs to go, t
“What I’d like to know,” Jim interrupts, and puts a hand on Billy’s shoulder, squeezing gently when Billy blinks up at him in surprised confusion, “is why my foster kid is sitting here, bleeding, a mere few weeks after suffering a severe concussion?”
He’s under no illusion that Billy’s innocent, here, especially after taking quick stock of the other teen’s injuries. He’s got one hell of a shiner, a split lip, several cuts and already forming bruises, and his nose looks about as bad as Billy’s. But Jim’s here on Billy’s behalf, and by the downright shocked look on the principal’s face, no one’s ever bothered to advocate for Billy before.
“Well.” The principal shifts awkwardly under Jim’s demanding stare. “These things happen. Not that we condone violence at this school, but boys will be boys, we can hardly—”
It sounds silly, even to Jim’s own ears, but it really is the only word to describe the way Billy is beginning to open up more and more. Training with Marcus is doing wonders for his confidence, chipping away at the hostility he used to wear like a shield, and revealing the surprisingly sweet kid underneath.
He still gets bristly, and can be a little bit of an asshole at times, especially when he feels cornered or pushed, but it rarely ever translates into violent outbursts anymore.
El is almost as thrilled as Billy about the return of the Camaro, since Billy, despite his grumbling, is almost always willing to drive her around town. Jim still gets nervous, sometimes, when she’s out and about, but having Billy around to watch out for her definitely helps to put his mind at ease.
Billy’s also started picking Max up from school again, and more often than not, Jim comes home to her, El and Billy—and Will, every now and again—spread out in the living room. Not that he minds; it’s nice, actually, to have a house that’s full of life and laughter again.
bestie if you wrote that when in russia harringrove au i would literally be in ur debt like i’m a slut for those fics
Sorry it took so long to get back! Everytime I went on here to reply I got distracted by some stupid post. You know how it is 😄🤗.
Anyway, I have a little written on that AU, but my attention for the last 2 years has been drawn towards anime. Which is fun, but also a rabbit hole you can't come back from. I also haven't written anything in those 2 years, I'm hoping to come back soon and my eyes have been on finishing some Harringrove AU's. So don't lose hope, okay?
It might not be soon, but I do plan on writing that AU. Hopefully I didn't disappoint you too much with my answer, but thanks for the ask! I live for these 🥰
Billy is quiet again, but not in a way that needs worrying over, Jim’s fairly sure. It’s confirmed after a minute or two when Billy says, very carefully not looking at Jim, “Thank you.”
“Of course, kid,” Jim says. Then, slow enough that Billy can move away if he wants, he lifts his arm to drape it across Billy’s shoulders. It makes Billy twitch, and Jim hold his breath, but before Jim can pull away, Billy pushes into the contact ever so slightly, cheeks pink. Jim gives him a gentle squeeze. “Now lets go pick up your car so I don’t have to keep playing chauffeur.”
