#dad hopper

Will: "Why? Mom misses you! And Nancy is here most dinners anyways!"

billy had his boyfriend, steve, over for the evening. his older, adult boyfriend, steve. el was at a sleepover with max and hopper was sulking on his arm chair with a can of beer in his hands. the television was playing softly and his son's bedroom door could be seen from his line of vision. he'd made billy promise to always keep the door open three inches earlier on when he introduced steve as his boyfriend. although their chatter and laughter was quite loud, hopper didn't mind too much that steve harrington was over at their place so many times.

billy had been following this rare rule quite well, surprisingly. hopper expected more of a fight. still, he was grateful. but that didn't mean he wasn't pissed that billy even had a boy over in the first place. hopper didn't see what billy saw in that kid. first of all, steve was older. automatic no. second... well there was no second. hopper knew steve was a great kid. he babysat el and her friends, made sure he brought billy home in time for his curfew, and was very polite to hopper.

most importantly, he made billy very happy. when hopper first adopted billy, he was a damaged, broken little boy who flinched at every little movement and sound, constantly expected to be hit, and often cried. billy was a sensitive boy. his father had ruined him and beaten him down to nothing. it took a major support system through hopper, el, max, and joyce to get billy to ease up. he was healing every day. back then, billy never smiled. he only scowled and lashed out and screamed. but now, he was always smiling.

and as reluctant as he was, hopper knew he had steve to thank for that. which was why he wasn't making a huge deal to billy's face about his boyfriend being at their place all the time and only complained to joyce.

but then billy's bedroom door quietly closed. hopper waited, immediately tensing up, for billy to open the door again and for it to have just been the wind or something. he waited a few moments, beer can crushing in his grip.

next, he heard the noise. now hopper might not have been getting any action lately but he was aware enough to know a moan when he heard one.

he bolted out of his armchair, rushing to the closed bedroom door. "hey- HEY! I SAID THREE INCHES! WHAT DID I SAY-"

he slammed the door open, holding onto the door knob as he peered into the little bedroom. his eyes were wide and he was breathing hard because what the fuck? billy was underage. steve was not. there should be no sexual activities going on at all.

the words died on his tongue as he took in the sight of his son sitting up against his back rest and steve laying beside him with one arm behind his head. the two of them turn to hopper, looking at him with innocent expressions of confusion and concern.

"what's wrong, pops?" billy asked, eyes wide.

hopper's eyes narrowed at billy's messy hair and ruffled shirt. then, he glared at steve's even messier hair and lack of shirt.

"where's your fucking shirt, kid?" he deadpanned the eighteen year old.

steve cleared his throat, sitting up beside billy. there were blushes on both their cheeks. "i, uh. it got kinda hot in here, chief."

hopper merely raised a brow. bullshit. billy perked up, sending a sweet smile at him. hopper was weak for his kids' smiles, especially billy's rare ones. and billy knew this. he was using that info for his advantage.

"yeah, pops. it's the truth. and the wind blew the door closed, sorry about that."

hopper sighed tiredly. he was too old for this. he knew he couldn't stop his kids from fooling around but that didn't mean he had to outright accept it. he'd stay in denial all he wanted.

he clenched his jaw extra hard when steve shot a smug smile at him. stay calm, jim. stay calm. billy loves him and that's all that matters.

"i'm going off to shower. you better be out of the house by the time i'm back, kid."

"sure thing, chief," steve smirked. then, he fucking winked at billy, making him stifle a giggle. the fucking audacity. right in front of hopper's face.

hopper closed his eyes momentarily. he turned to leave the room but not before shouting, "THREE INCH RULE."

Jim sees himself in Billy. How could he not?

Hop, he fought against anything and everything as a young man. Especially himself. He broke the law. Plenty. He definitely raged against the world, in all manner of ways. Difference between him and this kid though—the reason Jim didn’t end up lashing out specifically at those around him—he always had people looking out for him who gave a half-damn.

Unlike the Hargrove kid. He had nobody. Has nobody.

Well, not anymore.

Nowadays, Billy lives with Hopper and El in their weird little world. Jim, he put that scurge on humanity, Neil Hargrove, behind bars where his kind belongs.

So.

Billy isn’t an outsider looking in anymore. He isn't alone. He’s accepted, warts and all. Billy is shown he can change the ways he interacts with the world around him, if he wants to—and he does. He’s allowed to explore who he his; allowed to make mistakes and learn from them; he's allowed to try.

And he soon finds out he’s loved for it, actually. Billy is loved just for being Billy, because, as it happens, in a sort of strange (it's not really) turn of events, the kid is kind of a sweetheart.

Hop does attempt to uphold the three-inch gap rule whenever the Harrington kid comes over at first... But yeah, no. That ain’t happening. And honestly, fair play to them. Because Billy's not a kid anymore, he’s eighteen years old. And Hop? Well, he gets it. Just like he now gets his teen daughter El deserves her correct amount of privacy, too. Boundaries, Joyce calls it. So, yeah, Jim knows that Billy’s a man now, a man with a right to set his own boundaries, and hell, Hop can respect that.

But.

If he hears so much as a peep—anything at all that he and Joyce or El don’t need to be hearing? It’ll be sleepovers at the Harrington residence only.

Billy, he says, “Fairs fair,” when Hop tells him that. And also, a little quiter, says, “Thanks, man. Really.”

And the three of them? (Well, seven, if you're counting Joyce and Steve and Mike and Max when any or all of them are over at the cabin), they’re doin' okay.

After he’s told her all about the day, she asks Steve if he’ll make a card with her to show her what to do. Once they’ve finished, El asks if he's gonna give it to his dad and Steve says he isn't because he doesn't get on with him. He jokes that Hopper is more of a dad to him than his actual father.

El of course runs with that and tells him he should give the card to Hopper like she is. And Steve can't turn her down when she asks him to do anything, so promises he will.

So, on the morning of father's day, Steve grabs a couple of beers and his shitty little homemade card and drives over to see Hopper.

And Steve is weirdly super nervous and can barely bring himself to knock on the door, but the minute Hopper opens the door, it's like there's nothing on earth that could stop him from thrusting his card and beers at the poor unsuspecting man.

Hopper takes his offerings with a bemused smile on his face that quickly turns fond when he realises what he’s just been given. He pulls Steve into a crushing hug and Steve can’t help the tears that prick at his eyes from the feeling. He doesn’t even remember the last time his actual father hugged him, if ever.

Steve manages to get out a choked, "Happy father’s day, Hop," before he steps back.

Hopper just smiles at him with misty eyes, "Thanks, son."

Maaaaaaack Omg im obsessed with all of yours too. I need you to tell me about each and every one of them tbh. I already explained the premise for Plastic stars here but I thought I’d put a little snippet down below because it’s you 🤩

Jim waited until the deputies were starting to pack up before grabbing the file in one fist and stomping towards his office.

“Do you have any explanation for screwing up this badly?!” He snapped, slamming the door as he came in. Steve jumped nearly a foot in the air at the sound, turning in his seat and blinking slowly in Hopper’s direction.

“Ooo you’re mad,” the teen whispered, barely holding back drunken laughter that immediately set Jim’s teeth on edge.

“Mad? No, Steve, I’m not mad,” Hopper said in a dangerously soft tone, “I’m fucking pissed. I cannot believe how stupid you were tonight!”

Steve scoffed, turning his back on the police chief and slumping down in his chair.

“Old news, Hop. Everyone already knows I’m stupid.”

Jim’s jaw tightened to steel and he literally could feel the vein in his temple start to throb. He marched forward and slammed the file down on the desk, yanking Steve’s chair so they were fully facing each other.

“Oh no, we’re not doing that. You might not be a brainiac, but you are smart enough to know not to drive drunk,” Jim spat out.