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Her hand was in his, he pulled her along and she had a smile on her face. Everything was forgotten, it seemed like that anyway, the way they were able to move on without actually moving on. The both of them knew something would happen eventually, that there would yet again be another obstacle to overcome. Her skin was soft and supple and against his, they were walking along this lakeside, every now and then she would laugh as he pulled her along faster than she could keep up without breaking into a soft jog. He spun her around and she laughed, her hands coming to rest on his chest, their eyes meeting before she turned to look into the distance, a pained expression on her face.
"That's our home" her eyes look over the dull waters, lacking shine, where the funnels of smoke were rising, helicopters swooping causing her to turn her head and press her face against his chest
"We'll get it back" he plays with her hair, before following her gaze and smiling softly at the gold band on her finger "So we can have a future"
"Maybe" she whispers quietly, he lets out a soft sigh before running his fingers through her hair again, she looks up at him and he kisses her gently on the lips
"What's bothering you, Joyce?" he closes her eyes, a part of him didn't even want to see her expression, it would just resemble painful memories
"This, us"
"Us?" he didn't like the sound of that, she immediately understood how it sounded so she stroked her fingers against the shirt he was wearing
"No, not us, in that way" she scrunches her nose up, he chuckles and shakes his head "Just us you know-"
"I don't-"
"Us and the kids" she breathes out looking over to the smoky skies in the distance, she lets out a tired yawn "I know they're happy for us, but it's...it's not home"
"What do they say?"
"Nothing they say nothing but I know that they miss home" Joyce's eyes stung with unshed tears "I miss home"
"It's ok" he soothers her, his hand running up and down her back, she sniffles and wipes her eyes smearing makeup under them
"What if it's not?" she whispers, her eyes looking into his, his eyes were looking right back into hers - there was something mutual there, she knew there always would be
"Then we'll deal with it," he says softly, she gulps and presses her face into his chest, she didn't want him to see her weakness at that moment for some reason
"Easier said than done, Hopper"
"We'll get back there" he nods towards the terrible destruction "And it'll all be a distant memory-"
"Another thing for the history books?" she tries to tease, it just fell flat for her whilst he tried to smile through her words "I can't believe how close I got to losing you"
"It was my own fault-"
"No" she whispers, shaking her head "You didn't know all of this would happen"
"In a way, I'm glad it did," he says quietly, squeezing her softly, she had a questionable look on her face, it made him laugh at the way her brows furrowed as if to question his statement "Because if it didn't we wouldn't be here-"
"Married"
"Mhm" he kisses her on the head, he notices her turn her head away so she doesn't have to look at the mess of Hawkins in the distance, he brushes his fingers up and down her back "You look beautiful by the way"
"I look a mess"
"A beautiful mess then?" he looks at her, she meets his gaze, he sees the makeup smeared under her eyes so he reaches out and uses his thumb to wipe the stains away
"You're so annoying" she whispers softly before turning her head the other way, she smiles at all the kids sitting at a picnic bench talking, probably squabbling, "Some things never change"
"They don't" he agrees and takes her hand causing her to laugh and be dragged along to the edge of the lake, she slides her shoes off and swirls her foot in the water "Don't even think about it-"
"Come on" she grins, she seemed happy all of a sudden, he smirked and took his shoes off before joining her - she really was irresistible "All you have to do is live a little"
"Well" he whispers and scoops her up into his arms, she squirms and glares at him as he walks into the water, "I was thinking a quiet night in maybe even a family games night?"
"Here was me thinking that you would suggest something romantic, we have practically just eloped...with planning...kind of" she stumbles over her words, he couldn't help but laugh
"The kids have been through a lot," he says softly, she nods with a knowing smile "Besides there will be time to have a proper ceremony...maybe a blessing or something like that"
"Yeah" she nods and breathes out as he puts her down, she gasps at the sensation of the cold water and her ivory wedding dress floating behind her
"Beautiful" he cups her cheek, she looks into his eyes and smiles, a smile stretches over his face before their lips connect, he deepens the kiss and she pulls away, her head resting against his causing a light sigh before she rests against his shoulder, she smiles at the kids who were entertaining themselves before turning back to look at the devastation that was Hawkins "It's going to be ok"
It had to be ok