#hopperxoc

I guess I'll be putting lighter shorts in between those heavy "A Monster" writings. Just to keep things balanced XD. Plus, I've been itching to write Hopper and Dawn again.

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Dawn found herself spending more time sorting through the whirlwind of her mind rather than paying attention to the conversation. Hopper was conversing about something regarding his brother. Maybe. It was hard to tell. Her stomach was in knots from trying to remain collected. How did she have the guts to actually say yes to his invitation? It was just a walk, but still. It was a walk with Hopper.

She bit her lip nervously, almost desperately trying to stay focused on his words more than his eyes. A few times he'd make eye contact when talking and she would just get lost in the colors. At some point, they had sat down by the river. The silence had settled long before she took notice of it. He didn't seem to mind it, though. Hopper reclined back, propping up on his right arm. Dawn stole quick glances at him, wondering what he was thinking.

The sun was starting to go down. Its auburn rays danced on the river. It was a perfect day, really. She watched the sunset and tried not to smile. The colors just reminded her of his eyes. It was stupid, but she couldn't stop glancing over at him just to see if he was looking. Just to get a full view of his eyes. "Thank you for inviting me here," she started.

He smiled small, meeting her gaze. There they were, those eyes. "And thank you for joining me. We don't talk much aside from Tulip being picked up. I figured a change was in order."

So he wanted to talk to her. She felt a little better knowing that he was enjoying this time as well. Even if she was, admittedly, spending the bulk of it fawning over him. It wasn't obvious was it? She doubted he took any notice to it. To be fair, he hadn't known the gossip going around the colony about his appearance. So there probably wasn't much to worry about.

"That's true. I can't say I know much about the 'hot eligible bachelor of Ant Island'." She laughed. It was more adorable when his face heated and he diverted his gaze.

"I swear I don't understand where they get that from," Hopper gave a nervous chuckle. Quizzically, "Do they say anything to you about it?"

Oh boy. Dawn laughed jitterily, "I guess I've picked up on a few things. They seem to talk a lot about your strength," he snorted, "and how tall you are."

"I'm not an ant," he rolled his eyes, "is basically what I'm hearing."

Her laugh was genuine this time, "Basically. But even some of the guys are jealous of all the attention you're getting. I mean, they're competing with a tall, strong, handsome Guard of the Royal Family."

Hopper watched her carefully, "Is that what they said?"

"They added in a lot more words than that. I'm just paraphrasing," she smirked. "And then there's your eyes."

His face scrunched up, "My eyes? You're talking about my left eye."

"No, I mean eyes," she cocked her head toward him, "the right one too." He just shook his head in disbelief. "What?" she giggled, "I'm serious."

"Yeah, right," he laughed and pointed to his blind eye, "I wish it could be fixed. It's hideous." He hummed at an idea, "Maybe Dr. Flora could figure out something. It can't be impossible, right?" he addressed her.

Dawn frowned, "Why do you want to fix it?"

"Why wouldn't I? I've almost forgotten what it's like to see clearly and to be seen as normal. Not some dead-eye freak."

Against her better judgement, she reached a hand out and cupped the side of his face, a thumb brushing along the scar. "It looks pretty, though. I can understand wanting to see better, but you're not a freak because of it."

He stiffened, blinking at her, "I...well...th-thanks," he glanced down toward her hand. It's not like he could see it, she knew, but the action had been instinctual regardless.

Dawn bit her lip and slowly drew back, "Sorry...I don't know why I did that."

He watched her as she turned back to the sunset. The colors of the light swirled beautifully with her starlight eyes. Like day and night fighting for dominance. A pink tint dusted her freckled cheeks and he wondered a moment if it was from the sun or not. "I...I know I've already said this, but...Thank you again for spending the evening with me."

Her smile nearly surpassed the beauty of her eyes, "And thank you again for letting me. I really enjoy talking to you," her face reddened further. Perhaps it wasn't the sun.

Go for it. Hopper subconsciously bit his lip, a habit he blamed Dawn for getting him hooked on. Make a move before she leaves. Before she moves on from your company. But what good would that do? He'd just be setting himself up for disappointment. It didn't go past him that Dawn had been in the colony during the time of his tyranny over them. She didn't want anything to do with him. Nothing further than small talk, anyhow.

And for some reason that hurt him. For some reason the thought made him feel queasy. Whatever the other females saw in him, it certainly wasn't there. But that hardly mattered. What did Dawn see in him? Why did she agree to hang out with him? And she actually smiled at him. A genuine smile from what he could tell. It could be fake for all he knew, though. Regardless, it was beautiful. Fake or not he wanted to see it. He wanted to see her.

"Dawn?" he forced the words out before he could second-guess himself. She turned to him with full eyes, "Could we...do this again? Hang out?"

Dawn forced her nerves to settle, "Of course, Hopper. I'd love to."

He honestly never thought he'd love the sound of his name. To be honest, he hated his name. It was ridiculous and hardly anyone took him seriously because of it. But when she said it...

"Tomorrow?" He asked.

She smiled. It blocked out the sun itself. "Sounds great."

If only this day could last longer. They didn't need the sun. Heaven knows her eyes shone brighter than anything he'd laid eyes on. She could light up the whole world.

Dawn wished she could see him sooner. Maybe stay longer. Anything to keep him looking at her. To keep those eyes trained on her own. She had half a mind to reach out again and trace the scar on his face. She'd meant it. It was beautiful to her. And the fact that they were Hopper's eyes made it even better.

Reluctantly, they began to stand. She'd end up watching him the whole night anyway if they lingered. A hand grabbed hers. Hopper looked down at her shyly, it was the cutest thing, "I can walk you to your room. I-If that's okay, of course."

"Thank you," she squeezed his hand, ignoring the drumming of her heart.

Hopper bit his lip and started walking with her, glancing down to make sure he wasn't holding her hand wrong. Gripping too tight. Something. He was bound to be doing something wrong. How did Flik do this? How could he just talk to Atta the way he did? How did the kid make it past something like holding hands?

"You do it too," Dawn's giggled drew him out of his thoughts.

He blinked, "Huh?"

She nodded to his face, "You bite your lip, too. Nervous about something?"

Hopefully his blush wasn't as noticeable as the habit he'd acquired. "Me? No," he brushed it off with a smile, "I'm fine. Relaxed. Great...I...I'm great," he clamped his jaw shut to stop talking.

Dawn just smiled and leaned into him, "Whatever you say, Hopper."

What he would give to hear her say his name a million times over--Dang it...Flik was right.

https://ko-fi.com/kailrose

Heyo

So, I did the thing where I binged all of Stranger Things and, of course, fell in love with Jim Hopper. Therefore, I started writing and this happened. I hope you like it :) It is a HopperxOC (named Alma) fic.

Also, I’m gonna post another story with these two shortly, but with El because I have some SERIOUS mama bear feels for little miss El. I will hopefully post more things for all these lovelies as well. But we’ll see how the muses like me.

A little background: Alma and Hopper have been living together for a while, Alma has some mental health problems and neglects to eat on a regular basis, and while Jim Hopper is a hot mess himself, he tries to help when he can. Also, I’m gonna post another story with these two shortly, but with El because I have some SERIOUS mama bear feels for little miss El. I will hopefully post more things for all these lovelies as well. But we’ll see how the muses like me.

also I said I’d tag someone in this so @negansdirtygirl22 :D (not the original one I said, but that’ll be next)

Any who

Bruises and Medicine

Warnings: Kissing in the kitchen, mental health allusions, cleaning up Hop after a fight, lack of smut...this is pretty PG actually. Maybe fluff? idk (also no pancakes, but that’s to be expected)

Alma had gotten off shift early, so she decided to make something fancy for dinner. She knew Hopper had been pretty messed up with what was happening at work, so she figured a nice meal and some downtime would probably do him some good.

Dinner had been done for almost an hour when Alma finally heard the door open. She closed her book and went to greet Hopper at the door.

“Hey, sweetheart,” He said. He looked tired. Not just normal tired, but soul crushingly tired.

“Hi, baby,” She said gently. She wrapped her arms around his neck and his arms went around her waist. “Should I ask about your face?”

“I got in a fight,” He mumbled against her shoulder. Alma rubbed her hands over his back, and he made a gravely humming noise in her ear.

“Come sit, I’ll clean you up, ok?” He nodded, not letting her go right away. Hopper was the kind that always wanted his hands on her, and when he was upset, he was even more touchy. Luckily, Alma loved him and loved that he wanted to touch her. Alma pulled away enough so that she could grab his hand and pull him towards the kitchen. Alma sat Hopper at the table and kissed the side of his head before going off to get the first aid kit from the bathroom.

“It smells amazing in here,” He said when she joined him again. She set the kit down and went to the sink to wet a rag. Alma stopped to take a moment to put dinner back in the oven.

“I made dinner, but it’s mostly cold by now. Should be good in a few minutes though.” Alma smiled, no hint of annoyance in her voice. She knew Hopper, knew he sometimes didn’t come home on time, and was used to it, so she held no grudges for it.

“I’m sorry I came home late again,” He said, watching her. Alma rung out the rag again and joined him at the table.

“Chin up,” Alma told him, standing close enough to him that she could assess the damage. “How’s the other guy look?”

“Worse,” He said.

“Can I ask why you were fighting?” Alma dabbed at the cut over his eye and he winced. He reached out to hold onto whatever part of her he could. His hand ended up on the side of her leg, as if he meant to pull her closer to him.

“I was trying to find the kid,” He said, sounding defeated. “Didn’t learn much.”

“It’ll be ok,” She told him.

“What if it’s not? That kid has been missing for more than two days, at this point we’re looking for a body,” He said. Alma sighed and ran her fingers through his hair.

“And if closure is all you can bring his mother, then that’s what you’ll do.” She ran her fingers through his hair again. “It’s not your fault.”

“I know, I just, I just should do more,” He said. Alma nodded and turned to get some ointment from the kit to put over the cut on his face. When she turned back, her eyes were different, distant, hollow. As if the lights had gone out behind the normally warm baby blue. “You’ve got that look in your eyes doll, you still with me?” The silvery cast to her eyes told him she wasn’t.

“There’s more going on here than you know, Jim,” It was Alma’s voice, but she never called him by his first name. “You will be tested in ways you do not understand; you will lose some things to gain others. You will hurt and be hurt. Terrible things are coming.” And just like that she blinked and looked down at Hopper, confused as to which direction she was facing. Alma’s eyes were warm again, the silver shine in them gone.

Her confusion changed to concern when she saw the alarm on Hopper’s face.

“Oh dear, did I say something mean? Did I curse at you?” Alma knew that sometimes she blacked out and said terrible things that she couldn’t remember. It had been happening since she was small, or so she had been told. The truth was she didn’t remember large swatches of her childhood or adolescence, or much else until she had turned 22. As if a switch got flipped and suddenly, she was allowed to remember herself.

“No, sweetheart, you didn’t curse at me,” He pulled her closer and buried his face in the front of her dress.

“What did I say then?” Alma asked, concerned. He just shook his head and held her tighter for a moment.  She held the back of his head to her as if that would make things alright again.

“Nothing, sweetheart, don’t worry about it,” He grinned up at her. “How about you finish patching me up so we can eat that dinner you made?” Alma touched his face, knowing he was trying to spare her whatever horrible thing she’d told him. Part of her was annoyed by it, but part of her couldn’t help but be grateful. She knew some of the terrible things she’d called people, and didn’t like that that was a part of her life.

“Alright,” She relented. She put the salve on his cut and moved to his hands. The bloody knuckles were easy to clean, and she was pleased to see that he hadn’t busted any open this time. Never mind that meant the blood on his knuckles wasn’t his.

“Have you been taking your medicine?” he asked when she crossed the room to check on dinner.

“My medicine?” Alma feigned innocent. Truthfully, she hadn’t been taking her meds. It cost too much money and she found she really didn’t like the way it made her feel.

“Don’t lie to me now,” He said, cop voice. “Have you been taking your medicine?”

“Sometimes,” Alma said, not looking at him. “But…”

“But what? That stuff is to help you,” Hopper cut her off.

“I know, but,”

“But?” His voice had an angry edge to it now.

“But I don’t like how it feels,” She snapped. “I feel like ghost in my own body. And for what? So, I don’t black out for three or four seconds once or twice a month? That doesn’t seem like a great trade off to me,” She was angry now, fists clenched.

“Did you forget about that time you wandered off for three weeks and you called me from North Dakota?”

“Fuck off, that was one time.” Alma snapped. It was a tender spot for her because it scared her a lot. She had no memory of leaving home, and when she had come around, she was sleeping in the back of her El Camino in a truck stop somewhere far away with no memory of how she had gotten there or why. Only that hadn’t been the first time, just the first time since she lived with Hopper that she couldn’t lie about.

“Baby, I’m sorry,” He stood and crossed the floor between them. Alma turned away from him as he came toward her, but she was cornered and knew she was being foolish. “I’m sorry, baby, can I hold you? Please?”

“Fine,” She said. He wrapped his arms around her, and Alma closed her eyes. She turned into his embrace, melting for him all over again. He was good, an asshole sometimes sure, but he was good.

And he was hers.

“Why haven’t you told me?” He mumbled against her chocolate colored hair. She shifted so that her ear was against his chest and he tucked her head under his chin. She didn’t speak and he just rubbed her back, knowing she’d come around eventually. “Come on, baby, tell me,”

“You’ve been busy with work,” She said. “I didn’t want you worrying about me too.”

“Well jokes on you, I’m always worried about you.” Hopper replied. “Make a deal with me,”

“What sort of deal?” She asked, not moving from her spot pressed against his chest.

“You’ll go back to the doctor next week and tell them to give you something else, or you’ll start taking your pills again.”

“I don’t have any more pills,” Alma told him. “I took the last one the other day.”

“Then we’ll get you some more,” He said.

“I don’t want any more pills. I just want to live my life.” She grumbled.

“Ok, we’ll work with that then,” He said. He didn’t want to fight. Not tonight. “But at least think about it, yeah? You were feeling better on them for a while,”

“I’ll think about it,” She muttered. The timer went off, but neither moved right away. Alma liked being in his arms too much and he liked having her there.

“I was just thinking,” Hopper says, hands going to her waist. “I haven’t gotten to kiss you yet.” He lifted her up onto the counter and leaned in to kiss her. She held his face in her hands, keeping him there for a long moment as the kiss deepens, the timer still ringing in the background.

“I need to get the food out or it’ll burn,” Alma giggled as he tried to keep kissing her. He kissed her cheek, her nose, her mouth, nuzzling her.

“You wait right here, sweetheart,” He said, kissing her mouth once more. She watched him go to the oven and pull out the casserole. He set it on the top of the stove before returning to her. “Now, where were we?” He put his hands on the counter on either side of Alma. She smiled at him, taking his face back into her hands. He looked at her like she was the most amazing thing that ever happened to him. Alma brought him to her for a gentle kiss.

“Baby, we should eat before we do anything else,” Alma said. He grumbled as he kissed her jawline and then her neck. “Otherwise we won’t eat dinner at all,”

“I’m not hungry for food right now,” He growls into your shoulder. “Just starving for you,” Alma giggled at him.

“Come on baby, gotta take care of ourselves, right?” She said, using his own words against him. He shook his head. He was usually the one that had to tell her to eat more often.

“Nah, that’s all bullshit. Now come on, I’ve got something I wanna show you,” He picked her up and wrapped her legs around his waist. Alma braced herself on his shoulders, giggling because he was being silly and she had a soft spot for silly.

“Show me something, huh?”

“I just wanna take care of you right now,” He said. “All night long,”

“We’ve got work in the morning,” She replied, halfheartedly.

“We’re always late anyways,”

“Thanks to you,” She interjected, smacking his shoulder, remembering all the days they were late to work for dragging his drunk or hungover ass out of bed and pushing him off to his job.

“Thanks to me, so what’s one more day?” He smiled. “And I’ll be a better mood tomorrow than normal.”

“Fine, but if we don’t put the casserole away tonight, I’ll be upset because I spent a long time making it.” She told him.

“I promise to put it away for you sweetheart,” He kissed her again.

“You better keep your promise, Jim Hopper,” Alma said, using his full name to make him know she was serious. He snorted at her.

“I never want to hear you say my full name again,” He had the ghost of alarm behind his eyes.

“Why not…Jim Hopper?” She pretended not to notice that something was off.

“Because it sounds weird,” He kissed her as he crossed into the bedroom with her up in his arms. “Now come on, baby, let me love you,”

HEYO

So I know I literally just posted a thing, but this is also a thing that’s done, so here you go. Have some OC fluff with El because my momma bear instincts MUST PROTECC that precious child. Granted this is just fluff, so nothing major happens.

tagging @negansdirtygirl22 because reasons

link to the first one of my HopperxOC nonsense Bruises and Medicine:

https://imtherain.tumblr.com/post/184563327943/bruises-and-medicine

ANYWHO

Ice Cream

Warnings: Nothing major. Ice Cream, disguises, fines. You know, basic stuff. (Still lacking pancakes)

“Hey, El, I have the day off,” Alma said, standing in El’s doorway. She looked up at Alma with confusion. “What do you want to do today?”

“Do?” El asked.

“Well, Hopper left for work already, so he won’t be here to be a stick in the mud, we could do something he’d normally not agree with,” Alma said with a mischievous grin. “Like go outside! It’s a beautiful day, what do you say?”

“Hopper will be mad,” El said.

“I’ll deal with him when he gets home,” Alma grinned. “So, what do you say? We could even go for a long ride in the El Camino,” Alma said. El thought for a moment before she nodded. Alma knew El got cabin fever not being allowed to really leave, so whenever she could, Alma took her for a drive. Hopper knew about the drives, and Alma had argued with him about them, but at the end of the day, and with promises of being so, so, so, careful, Alma got her way.

“Ok,” Alma smiled. “First, you gotta get cleaned up and dressed, yeah?” El climbed off her bed and headed towards the bathroom. Alma ruffled El’s hair as she went past.

Alma puttered around the kitchen as she waited for El to finish in the bathroom, picking up the leftover breakfast dishes and coffee cups, washing them up in the sink. Alma was just drying the dishes when El came out with her hairbrush.

“Can you brush my hair?” El asked. Alma smiled softly and nodded.

“Of course, sweetheart,” She told the child. “Come sit,” El sat at the table and handed Alma the brush. “Did you sleep well last night?”

El nodded as Alma began to run the brush through her hair.

“Any fun dreams?” Alma pressed. El shook her head no. “Bad dreams?” El shook her head no again.

“No dreams,” El said.

“That’s ok too,” Alma finished brushing El’s hair and gave a nod. “All done, how’s it feel?” El touched her hair, which was still short and getting curlier by the day.

“Pretty,” El said looking up at Alma.

“Yes, you are very pretty sweetheart,” Alma grinned down at her. “Let’s go play outside,” El followed Alma towards the door, where Alma paused. “Wait, we should take extra precautions, just so Hopper can’t yell at us for being stupid, right? We need disguises.”

“Disguises?” El asked.

“Yes! Oh, where did I put those…” Alma began moving around the cabin, flipping open cabinets and things until she remembered. “Oh right, in the closet, that makes sense, right?” She laughed at herself. Alma went off into the room she and Hopper shared and came back with a pair of scarves and sunglasses.

El was still standing by the door, curiosity clear on her face. Alma came over and set one pair of glasses on El’s nose and then wrapped one of the over-sized handkerchiefs around El’s neck. El touched the silk, confused.

Alma put on her own glasses and wrapped herself in her own silk scarf with a dramatic flair.

“Now no one will know who we are because we’re in spy gear. They’ll just think we’re super models or something,” Alma said, unlocking the door.

“What’s a super…model?” El asked, following Alma out the door.

“You know the pretty ladies on the magazines I bring by?” Alma asked. El nodded. “Those are super models. Supposedly when they go out in public, they dress like this so people don’t know who they are, and they can pretend to be normal people.” Alma explained. “Can you lock the door for me sweetheart?” El nodded and they heard the lock click into place. “Thanks, love,” Alma jumped down the stairs all at once and El copied her.

Alma was wearing jeans over work boots and a t-shirt under one of Hopper’s old flannels. El was dressed pretty much the same, except she had overalls on.

“What do you say we go check on the river on the way to the El Camino?” Alma asked.

“I want to go for a drive,” El said.

“Ok, we can check on the river later then,” Alma was still smiling as they trudged through the underbrush to where her El Camino was parked.

El stopped once, hearing something. Alma stopped too and watched the girl looking up into the trees in the midmorning light. Alma thought, not for the first time, that El looked so small amongst the trees, almost like a lost fairy, waiting to go home.

Alma waited patiently until El came back from wherever her brain had wandered. Alma smiled at her when she blinked at Alma, as if confused. Alma just nodded and started heading for the car again.

Once the shiny black of Alma’s El Camino came into site, El stopped again, just inside the tree line. Alma stepped out into the light of midmorning and turned back.

“What is it, sweetheart?” Alma asked. El shook her head.

“We shouldn’t go out,” El said, shaking her head again.

“Do you want to go back?” Alma asked.  El thought for a long moment.

“Hopper said we shouldn’t be stupid.” El said. Alma nodded in agreement.

“That he did, but how are we being stupid? We have disguises, and we’re just going for a drive. I was planning on driving us west where no one knows who we are. I heard they put up a new DQ a few towns over and I was going to surprise you with ice cream. But if you’d rather go back, we can do that too.” Alma said with a shrug. El thought for a long time.

“DQ?”

“It’s Dairy Queen, it’s a place for ice cream and hamburgers and French fries.” Alma explains. “I haven’t been to one in ages, and they were my favorite for a while,”

“Ice cream?” El asked again.

“Have you had ice cream yet?” Alma asked, offended. El shook her head. “It’s up to you then, we can head back, or we can,” El strode passed Alma and stopped next to the car. “Or we go to DQ.” Alma laughed. “Let’s go!” Alma got into the driver’s seat and unlocked the passenger door for El, who climbed in and rolled down the window. Alma started the El Camino up and rolled down her own window as she backed onto the road and headed west, towards the newest DQ in the area.

After they cleared the Hawkin’s town line, Alma turned up the radio over the wind from the windows and sang along with all the songs. She glanced at El from time to time and was happy to see the girl smile. If nothing else, for the moment, they were free.

Alma and El spent the day driving around on the backroads until they made it to the new DQ. Alma ordered them burgers and fries and ice cream cones and then off they drove again. El quickly made a mess of her face with the ice cream cone.

“I should have asked for extra napkins huh?” Alma said, handing one to El. “Wipe your face, honey, or it’ll get all sticky.” El looked at the napkin before taking it and doing as Alma suggested. Alma showed her how to lick the cone without making such a mess.

Right as they crossed into the Hawkins town line a tan blazer zoomed past them going the other direction. El turned around in her seat and watched the truck slam on it’s break before turning around in the middle of the road.

“Trouble,” El said. Alma rolled her eyes when she saw the blazer come up behind them at an alarming speed, lights all blaring.

“Luckily, it’s just Hopper,” Alma said, casually pulling to the side of the road, careful not to drop the ice cream cone she’d been nursing since DQ. Alma put her car in park and waited as Hopper jumped out of his truck, slamming the door behind him. As he approached the car, Alma leaned on her window, trying to appear unaffected by his anger.

“Just what the hell do you think you’re doing?” Hopper had his angry cop voice on.

“How did you know it was us?” Alma asked.

“You’re the only one who owns an El Camino in 100 miles, sweetheart, and I’d recognize it anywhere,” Hopper said. “You shouldn’t be out.”

“Well, I had the day off, so…”

“So, you went off galivanting, risking…” Hopper held his fist to his mouth to keep the rest of his sentence inside. He glanced around as if afraid someone had heard him, which was unlikely, seeing as they were in the middle of nowhere.

“We wore disguises,” El said. Hopper looked at the girl like she was crazy, but didn’t rebuke her.

“You two need to get your asses back home, now.” Hopper said, gesturing angrily with his hand. “No more stops.”

“To be fair, we never got out of the car,” Alma tried.

“Not the point, sweetheart,” Hopper snapped. Alma shrugged.

“We just went to the new DQ, got lunch and ice cream. Went through the drive through,” Alma explained. “Want a bite of my ice cream?” Alma offered him the cone. He glared at her for a long moment before taking it from her. He made a big show of taking a taste of it.

“It’s good, huh?” Alma asked.

“Go home and stay there.” Hopper said, turning and heading back to his truck, still licking the ice cream cone.

“Hey, I wasn’t done with that!” Alma called out her window after him. He waved at her.

“Consider it a fine,” He called back.

“You’re an asshole!” Alma called, restraining a laugh. He shook his head.

“Love you too!” He waved in their direction and then disappeared into his truck.

“Mad?” El asked when Alma didn’t pull away right away.

Tulip squirmed uncomfortably in her mother's hold. There was another pair of arms calling her name on the other side of the clearing and by God if she'd let anything hinder her from reaching them. However, her mother was in too heated a conversation to notice the movement.

"If you don't have time to watch her then you don't have time to talk to me," Dawn hissed. She tried setting a good example for Tulip, but there were just some certain people in this colony that tested her patience.

Said person stood with crossed arms. His eyes glanced to the child in her arms with little interest. Jay scowled, "It takes a lot less of my time to talk to you--"

"And even less of your love."

"--then it does to watch her."

"Well guess what, Jay, we're a package deal. I don't want to be anywhere near you if you don't want to have any part in your daughter's life. Not that I would want to be anywhere near you regardless, but I'd tolerate it for her."

Jay held her shoulders gently, "Come on, Honey. We can work something out, we're both adults here. We don't have to stop talking over a petty argument. But see things my way; I never asked for a child."

"Never--" Dawn blinked from her stupor and growled, "we talked about starting a family, Jay! Last time I checked you agreed on having children!"

"I agreed for you to have children. I never said that I'd be involved too."

Dawn grits her teeth, "You sorry piece of--"

"Mommy, can I go now? Please?" Tulip whined.

She hesitated, but there was no question where the girl wanted to be instead. And that place was where Dawn wanted her to be as well. "Alright, go on. Love you!" she called as Tulip hurried across the clearing. No sooner had the words left her mouth did Tulip find herself getting scooped up in Hopper's arms. Dawn watched him smile and look over in her direction. The smile faltered slightly as he met Jay's eyes and he forced his attention back to Tulip.

Jay gave the grasshopper a sour look, "Let the brute watch her while we talk. He obviously has more time on his hands than I do."

"He makes time for her. That's what you do for people you love. And he's not a brute."

Something dangerous glistened in Jay's eyes a moment and he glared at her, "So that's the problem, huh? This isn't about that brat you carry around...it's about that grasshopper!"

"Jay--"

"No! Here you've been pinning the blame on me when you've been off having a grand old time with your new toy," he gestured avidly to Hopper in the distance.

"We're just friends," Dawn bit out in rage.

"Sure you are," Jay lowered his voice as he came nose-to-nose with her, "because that's exactly why you want me to take her off your hands for a while. Have some alone time, get cozy--"

A crack of sound silenced the workers in the clearing. Jay held the side of his face, eyes wide at Dawn. Her hand stung, but that was the least of her concerns. In a low voice so no one could hear, "All I wanted was for her to have a father. If it were up to me, she'd never see your face again. But you know what? She's obviously made up her mind," she glanced to Hopper as he watched worriedly. Tulip had her head buried in the crook of his neck, whimpering.

Dawn focused back on Jay, "Now stay out of my way, out of my life, and out of my business. And for your information, Tulip isn't the only one who's made up her mind."

The crowd watched her glance around nervously at the attention. Hopper swept a stern look to the workers, "Alright, get back to work! We've got a quota to fill!" There was just a moment's hesitation before they stumbled back into their rhythm.

Dawn gave him a small smile and walked off, leaving a stunned Jay. Tulip sniffled and lifted her head, "Is Mommy okay?"

He watched Dawn disappear behind the grass, "Mommy will be fine, Sweetheart. You know what might help? Find her one of those pretty rocks she likes," he set her down, smiling and wiping her tears away. "That'll cheer her up in no time, right?"

"Yeah," Tulip sniffed and smiled a bit, "I know just the rock!" She hurried off in search of the present.

It wouldn't take her long to find the right rock. The Island was covered in them. He set his sights ahead. Jay rubbed at the side of his face as if it would make the red mark go away, grumbling something angrily. He stood stock-still as a shadow covered him. Hopper bared his teeth, leaning down, "For such a small bug, you sure can talk a lot. Ever thought of saying something smart for once?"

The fear in Jay's eyes couldn't be concealed no matter how much he straightened, "Touched a nerve, did I? You don't scare me, cricket." The shake in his voice proved otherwise, but he kept on. "I can see right through your act. You don't care about that brat, either. She's just a tool to get closer to Dawn."

Hopper snarled. He had half a mind to strangle this ant. Surely Atta could spare one. Someone called his name gently and he saw Dawn giving him a pleading look behind a blade of grass. Hopper reigned in his anger. Jay looked smug, "Go on. Go play with your little pet. Let's see how much you love her when she's carrying around your child."

"If I ever see you talking to her, I will kill you. If you look at her, I will kill you," Hopper gave a chillingly impassive look. "Guess what I'll do if you touch her. Go ahead, guess."

Jay swallowed, "Kill me?" he tried to sound sarcastic, but the quiver in his voice lost the effect.

"I was going to say torture you but if you wanna water it down, by all means, do so." Hopper straightened, "The same goes for Tulip. If you're ever stupid enough to hurt her you're as good as dead." He stalked off. Anything Jay would have to say -- if he could speak after that -- would be a waste of his time.

Dawn opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by a small voice calling Hopper's name. They turned to see Tulip with a colorful rock in her hands -- the one that resembled Hopper's eye. "Mommy! Mommy!" she was nearly out of breath by the time she stopped and reached both arms out to her mother. "I found a rock for you! To make you feel better!"

"Aw, baby, thank you," she held the rock close to her chest and pulled Tulip in for a hug. "I love it." Dawn was increasingly aware of Jay still burning holes into the three of them. Whatever Hopper had told him drove the nail deeper. "Let's go find Gypsy and you can stay with her for a bit. How's that sound?"

Tulip giggled, "Yay!" Those eyes watching them burned more as they watched the child rush up to Hopper and get pulled into his arms. Dawn felt ready to just break down from the anxiety of everything. She shouldn't have slapped him. So what if he didn't want to take care of his daughter? But he had no right to think he could still make a move on her if he didn't want anything to do with Tulip.

A hand took hold of hers, "It's okay," Hopper smiled small. "How about you just take some time alone. I'll make sure she gets to Gypsy."

It would have been easy to nod her head yes. She did. Just a simple nod and he turned to do exactly as he said. Dawn felt her mouth move before she gave it permission to, "Hopper," he looked back at her, "can you meet me later? You know where to find me." Hopper regarded her expression for a moment before nodding and setting off again.

Dawn looked over and met Jay's eyes. They were seeing red. She was thankful now that her species weren't physically built to fight. He could hurt her and Tulip, but she had every confidence he wouldn't get far when Hopper would step in.

The longer she stood here, though, in his line of sight, the greater chance there'd be of a fight breaking out. It would be in everyone's best interest to make herself scarce for a while. Dawn hurried off toward the river. As far as Hopper knew, she'd been coming to this spot long before he ever came into the picture. It was new. The only reason she started coming here to get away from things was that there were no bad memories here.

No stress. No anxiety. As she sat down on the rocks, images of their meetings here flashed through her mind. It was comforting. Safe. This was the one place she could go where no one could hurt her. It was the safest place she could be.

Footsteps were heard behind her, but she recognized them long before Hopper took his spot beside her. They stayed silent for a while. Dawn eventually sighed, "You're probably wondering what all that was."

"I am... but you don't have to tell me anything." Hopper held his hand out, "I'm just here if you need me."

She stared down at the offer and looked up at him. He just smiled. Tears rolled down her cheeks, "Can," her voice broke, "Can I have a hug?"

Hopper no sooner embraced her and pulled the ant into his lap. She couldn't hold back anymore as sobs wracked her body. It would help if her mind wasn't retracing her life choices, trying to find where she went wrong and how she could have avoided being in the situation she was in now. But...

The pain eased a bit as the thought settled.

Her situation right now? Right now she was in Hopper's arms. She was safe. The river wasn't why she came here. It wasn't the memories. The only reason she came to this place was because she knew Hopper would be here shortly after. Anywhere near him was the safest place she could be. Hopper had learned that whenever she came to this river, she needed him. And he had never failed to meet her needs.

A weak laugh escaped her, "I wish this could be said under happier circumstances..." Her heart picked up the pace a little.

Hopper didn't think much of it, "And what's that?"

Dawn looked up at him. She expected doubt to come rearing its ugly head. Telling her he could never feel the way about her. But he was here now and he'd always been there for her. She expected to feel like she was making a mistake. But every mistake was because she didn't find Hopper first.

He gave her no reason to doubt the words that she said, "I love you." She let it sink in. Hopper looked taken aback, blinking. "I love your laugh. I love your heart. I love your smile and your bravery. I love the way you give Tulip your whole heart as if she were your own. I love how you're always there for me even though you don't have to be. I just...I love you, Hopper."

She kind of wanted to laugh at how flushed his face was. How his eyes had widened and antennae rigid. "I...a-are you sure?"

That did it. Dawn laughed. The dried tears could be felt under her smile, but she laughed. She cupped his face with both hands, "I'm more than sure. Whatever more than sure is...that's what I am."

He still seemed flustered, "Positive?"

"Yes! That's the word. I'm positive," she giggled.

It was shy, but Hopper smiled. "Well, that's a relief. You have no idea how long I've been wanting to tell you that I love you," he chuckled.

Dawn gave a dramatic sigh, "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Oh, yeah, 'cause I'm going to just automatically know how it feels to love someone," Hopper rolled his eyes. "At least you have experience."

"Now you're just being ridiculous."

"No, I'm serious! You know more about this than--"

"No, I mean not being in love before," she laughed.

Hopper blinked, "Never. Not once, honestly. Not romantically." He thought over it. There wasn't a time he could look back on and say that he was in love.

Dawn stared at him for a long moment, realizing he was being serious. "Wow," she breathed, "how's it feel?"

"Like...," Hopper laughed airily, "like I'm with you. I don't know," he shook his head as if trying to backtrack. "It doesn't feel like anything I've felt before. Scary...I think. It's a little scary."

"Yeah, because Mr. Tough Guy's never been scared before," she teased.

Hopper laughed fully now, "You know what I mean."

She pressed her forehead against his, "Yeah, I do. I can't really explain it either."

He snorted, "You were just trying to steal my answer then. Cheater."

"You're such a child," Dawn couldn't hold back her laugh. She didn't really want to.

A smile stretched across his face, "I love you. Man, it feels good to finally say it."