“Family isn’t always blood. It’s the people in your life who want you in theirs. The ones you accept you for who you are. The ones who would do anything to see you smile, and who love you no matter what.” (unknown)
WHAT: Reuniting
WHEN: After this WHERE: Outside
WARNINGS: Not likely (unless you're not up to date on Stranger Things)
STATUS: Closed, Incomplete
Hopper was angry. He didn't want to be in this place, forced to fight for some stupid faction. He wasn't impressed by the effort it must have taken to bring him to this place. He'd initially tried throwing his weight around, for all the good it would do him. And then he found out El was here too. And once he knew El was near, he would tear the place apart to find her.
Luckily he didn't have to tear anything apart. He just had to go outside, and look for her. He might not be able to reach out to her psychically, but he knew instinct would take him to her. She was his daughter, after all, and even if they didn't share blood, they shared a name. They were family in the truest sense of the word, because they were the kind of family that found each other, that saved each other, that loved each other without obligation.
He would swear his heart skipped a beat when he saw her. He had known there was a good chance he'd never see her again when he left her in the food court at the mall. He'd known the possibility that he wouldn't make it out was very real. He didn't know how he'd made it, how he was here and alive now. Those answers could wait. Priority at the moment was wrapping Eleven in his arms and holding her tight.
"Oh kid, I've missed you," he murmured. He kissed the top of her head. He wasn't one for public displays of emotion, but at the moment? He didn't care who was watching.