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He breathed her in. Hopper stood there still unsure whether he was dreaming or not, but he still clung onto her and smiled. Joyce pulled out and reached up to his face, he smiled "hey.." "hey.." they said to each other with a smile of relief and comfort, a smile that jim never knew he would ever have again.
Soldiers came running towards where they stood and Murray cleared his throat "we need to go" he called over, breaking the moment between Hopper and Joyce. They moved and joyce looked at jim "are you okay to run?" She asked as she knew he wouldnt be in the best condition, he nodded "yeah, let's just get the hell out of here."
- a crazy shoot out and a chaotic stolen car ride later -
They arrived at the church aka Yuri's warehouse, he had now no choice but to give the others help and cooperation. The crates he kept stored included clothes aswell as the other essentials that he had imported. Murray and enzo scurried thro8gh the crates to see what was in store for them. Enzo through some jeans and a tshirt over to jim. He looked at the clothes and was relieved to see clothes that weren't the horrible itchy prison uniform he was in. "Wait.. me and murray have a motel. Why dont we take what we need back there, then you can shower and put those on.. after I've cleaned your wounds" joyce said, her hand on his arm. He looked at her hand and back at her before nodding "okay.."
Not much had been said between the two, not much was able to have been said as they were busy running from crazy, scary russians, and trying not to get killed.
- at the motel -
They walked into the room that Murray and Joyce were sharing, there was 2 single beds. Enzo looked at them "we need extra room, american, you and your woman should get second room together" he smiled at him and patted his shoulder. Joyce looked confused as a small shade of red covered her cheeks, hopper cleared his throat and parted his mouth to speak "do they speak English here?" Was all that came out. Murray laughed and shook his head "no, I'll go get the room for you two. Wait here." He left.
Hopper looked over at the bathroom, as was Enzo, both of them wanting a shower. Enzo looked at hopper "you can go first" they both said and then smiled. Joyce then watched them go into a frenzy about who was going first. "Boys.. this week has been stressful enough without this, quit your gentleman antics and someone get in the goddamn shower!" She snapped and sighed. Hopper watched her, God he missed her so much, the way she took control was what made him fall for her in the first place, as well as her beautiful looks.. and that smile. When he described himself as cursed, he wasnt wrong, he was cursed of being so madly in love with this woman.
Enzo went into the bathroom whilst Hopper was staring a joyce, lost in throught and admiration. "I'm sorry.. I didnt mean to snap" she whispered to him. He smiled and shook his head "no please.. dont apologise." He grinned more and let out a subtle laugh. She smiled at him "God I missed you" she breathed and he nodded. The gap between them coming to a close but before anything happened, the door opened as murray stepped in "okay I got you a room, it's just two doors down to the left. 403, you cant miss it.. but if you do, then.. maybe you should get that checked" he handed them the keys.
- Room 403 -
Hopper held the keys to the keyhole but his hands trembled as he tried to put the key in. He sighed and tried to steady them "hey.. hey here let me do it" joyce said softly and placed her hand on his arm, stroking it softly before taking the keys and opening the door for them.
A double bed was centred in the middle of the room with a little bedside table and a flickering lamp sat on it. Joyce looked at Jim but he went straight to the bathroom and shut the door as he showered. "Oh" she said under her breath and then shut the room door.
After Hopper had finished showering, he came out of the bathroom in the tshirt and Jeans. She looked up at him with a smile "hey.. you feeling better?" He nodded and smiled back "much.. I'm still in pain but, that.. felt like heaven" he smiled. She stood and moved to the bathroom "well, I'm glad you're feeling better. But, you still have some wounds that I need to look at" she called out and was surprised to find a first aid kit in the cabinet.
Hopper was sat on the bed, half laying back agaisnt the pillows. She approached him "shirt off" he smiled "not even had our first date yet and you're stripping me" he joked and she grinned before sitting next to him "I mean it. Come on." He them did as she said. She began sterilising his wounds with rubbing alcohol, her eyes meeting his every so often. The air was thick between them, so much wanted to be said but neither knew where to start. "El misses you." She broke the silence. Hopper felt his heart sink "she does?.." he swallowed "god I.. miss her so much. How is she? Is she still with Mike?" Joyce smiled and nodded "shes doing well, I moved to California and took her with me.. made it my job to look after her, I didnt want to let you down, and most importantly I couldnt leave her in that town, all the memories being brought back.." he grabbed her hand and rubbed it. She then continued "She makes these little figurines and houses with cardboard and bits.. she had a school project about making a hero." She looked into his eyes and frowned "she made you, hop" her voice quivered. He let out a shaky breath and teared up. He had no words. "She uh.. yeah, she" joyce cleared her throat and continued "her and mike are still together. He should be in California now with her. They send letter back and forth to each other." Hopper smiled again and sniffed.
Joyce stopped and put everything down, she was pretty much done with the first aid kit anyway. She pushed it aside and clung onto Jim, hugging him tightly but trying to be careful as he was bruised. He held her back and let himself cry. A little while passed and he sighed. They pulled out of the hug and he held her face "I'm so sorry.. if there was a way I could go back in time.. I'd do it all over again, you dont deserve this. I mean I dont even know why you came all this way. You shouldve tore up that letter and carried on with your life. You were better of without me, I cursed your life and-" he stopped talking. But it wasnt because he wanted to, it was because Joyce's lips crashed agaisnt his. He wasnt sure if it was to shut him up or to prove him wrong, prove to him that he could be loved and that it was possible to be happy. Either way, he held her and kissed her back.
The kiss was short, somewhat longer than a peck. She pulled back and looked at him, he opened his mouth to speak but she stopped him "No. If I hear any more bullshit come out of that mouth I will leave you here." She joked but then got serious. "I mean it. Hop if you really believe any of what you just said you've lost you're goddamn mind. Do you even know how much you mean to me? Hell I came all the way out here, does that not prove anything to you? I risked my life to save your ass, and I sure as hell am not gonna sit here and let you bury yourself and self pity. Do you understand me?" She snapped and stared at him waiting for an answer.
Hopper nodded "I'm gonna need you to stop talking." He moved his face closer to hers as he leant in "because that was the most hottest thing I've ever witnessed" he breathed and kissed her. He gripped her shirt and turned them so that he was over her. They kept turning and smiling agaisnt eachother lips, not getting nearly enough of each other. The pair of them had been dancing around these feelings that had only briefly been brought up roughly around a year prior. But now, they didnt care, they needed each other and so they were going to have each other, in every sense of the meaning.
- Next morning. -
Joyce woke up, fir the first time in many years she woke up next to a warm naked body. A body belonging to a man that she deeply cared for and loved. She looked up at him and watched as he slept, she kissed his cheek and then lay back down agaisnt his chest gently. Unfortunately, she managed to wake him. He sat up violently as his heart raced "no!" He then realised where he was. He took a slow breath and held his chest "shit.. Joyce.. I'm sorry I, had a nightmare." This was when they both realised these next few steps will be difficult for him, getting out of the prison was one thing, but recovering from it was a whole different thing.
Joyce rubbed his back and kissed his shoulder "hey.. its okay, it's okay. Its just me, we're safe, you're safe." She said softly and continued to kiss his shoulder. He nodded and calmed down, he kissed her head and wrapped his arm around her. "We'll get through this, okay? I promise. I'm gonna be here every step of the way." Joyce said and looked up at him. He looked at her and gave her a pure appreciated look before nodding. "We could start by going to Enzos.. or whatever the california version of that is." He smiled and kissed her forehead "sounds like a plan" she smiled and grabbed his neck, pulling him down into a kiss.
- The End -