who needs imagination?

Will nodded and looked away, swallowing back the tightness in his throat. El’s absence haunted them all in different ways.

“How’re you doin’ with all this?”

Will shot a look at Hopper. 

“With what?”

Hopper waved a hand at the cabin, the cars filling up the makeshift driveway, himself.

“I know you’re on a countdown to graduation and getting the hell out of Hawkins,” Hopper said, “but still. Can’t be easy.”

“Oh,” said Will. Was that all. “It’s not bad.”

Hopper snorted.

“No really,” Will said, “it’s not. I mean it’s crowded and the cabin’s still pretty rough, but it doesn’t smell as bad as Mike’s basement, and you being here- it’s like a gift.”

Will risked a glance at Hopper who looked more confused than anything.

“A gift? I’ve been called a lot of things, kid, never a gift.”

Will flushed. 

“It’s like, I mean…when El was with us in California, she-” Will’s throat seized up again, but he pushed through, not sure how much more he could get out if he hesitated - “she loved having a mom.”

Hopper’s face flickered with pain and Will forced himself not to look away as he continued.

“She loved having a mom,” Will said again, “and she was so grateful. She was always thanking me and Jonathan for sharing our mom with her and she, she missed you so much and I think…I think she would have been happy that this time she was sharing something with us.”

Hopper coughed and cleared his throat, stubbing out his cigarette and making a whole production out of lighting another one. Will looked away, studying the trees as he gave Hopper a moment.

“You and your brother, and Joyce,” Hopper said at last, voice muffled with what Will had to assume were tears (he still couldn’t bring himself to look), “you’re the real, you’re-”

Hopper tried to get the words out and then he was crying and Will was going to shrivel into dust.

“Are you trying to say that we’re the gift?” he asked finally.

“Jesus,” Hopper muttered, running a hand across his face. He cleared his throat. “Yeah. That’s what I’m trying to say.”

Will tried to bite back a laugh, but it spilled out anyway.

“Please stop, that's so embarrassing.”

“Shut up, kid,” Hopper said, but he was laughing too. “You started it.”

Joyce found them on the porch a moment later, still laughing at each other, at themselves. 

“Everyone okay out here?” 

Will heard the tired edge in her voice, the one that said she’d been crying. Their laughter faded and Will took her hand, pulling her down to join him on the steps. 

“Yeah mom,” Will said. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and glanced over at Hopper who gave him a half smile as took another drag of his cigarette. “We’re okay.”

x