Stranger Things - Imagines

Jim Hopper X Reader - I Do Not Hook Up

A/N - This chapter was inspired by the song I Do Not Hook Up by Kelly Clarkson. I hope you all enjoy it.

The banging on your front door would be enough to set you on edge, no matter the time of day. And now, when you had just been about to go to bed in the middle of the night, it was definitely giving you a bad vibe. You'd scooted slowly towards the door, trying to stay out of view of the windows, your back pressed against the wall as the knocking got louder. 

"I can see you," a voice called out, and if it had come from anyone else, you probably would've dropped to the floor and hidden in an instant, but instead, you tore the door open, finding Hopper looking a little worse for wear. "Hi," he hummed, offering up a crooked smile as you glared at him.

"It's midnight, Jim," you bit out, shaking your head. "What are you doing here?"

He shrugged slightly, lurching forward and past you into your house. It wasn't unusual for him to show up unannounced, especially now that he had El living with him. Having a teenager in the house was new to him, and he needed a break from time to time, and advice on even rarer occasions. 

"Are you drunk?" you bit out, brow furrowed as he leant himself up against the doorframe, only just managing to stay upright. "Jesus Christ," you murmured, shaking your head as you took his elbow, leading him over to the couch. "Does El know where you are?"

He nodded, sending you another soft smile. "You're so good to me," he hummed out, catching your hand in his as you stood up. 

"Yeah, well someone has to be," you grumbled, pulling your hand from his and grabbing a blanket from the back of the couch to throw over his lap. "I'll call El; tell her you're staying here tonight, alright?"

"She's got Max staying over," he murmured. "She'll be fine," he added, shuffling down a little until he reached a comfortable position. He stared up at you whilst he moved. "She really likes you, you know? Loves having you around-"

"Well, she has good taste," you chuckled, feeling his eyes follow you as you disappeared into the kitchen, returning with a bottle of water and a pack of aspirin. "So, what happened?" you hummed, perching on the coffee table in front of him. 

He waved his hand at you, trying to scoot around the question until he saw the serious expression on your face. "She never showed up," he muttered. 

Your brow furrowed. "El?"

"No," he grumbled. "Joyce. We were supposed to have dinner at Enzo's and she never showed-"

"Oh," you breathed out, trying to ignore the way your heart tightened at the news that he'd been planning on going on a date with Joyce. After all, she was a friend of yours too and if they liked each other, you wanted them to be happy. But, part of you couldn't help but be jealous. 

"Yeah," he muttered. "I was sitting there on my own like a fucking loser; like I got stood up or something," he pressed on. 

You nodded. "And you came here because-?"

"Because I wanted to see you," he hummed. "Because you're so good to me," he added.

A soft scoff slipped out of you at his comment. You were the second choice, again. He couldn't have Joyce, so he'd come here for a little bit of sympathy from the next best thing. "Right," you murmured, pushing up to your feet. "Water and painkillers are there," you uttered, gesturing at where you'd left them. "You're going to need them in the morning."

"Where are you going?"

"Bed."

"Are you mad at me for waking you up?"

"Nope."

"Then why are you mad at me?"

You opened your mouth to answer and then hesitated. "I'm not mad at you, Jim." You offered up a half-assed attempt at a smile. "You need to get some sleep or the hangover will end up being killer," you added, scooting out of his range as he reached out his hands for you. "Goodnight."

*Time Skip*

You'd only been in bed for about 20 minutes when you heard Hopper shuffling around in the other room, his feet making the floorboards creak as he made his way to, what you could only assume was the bathroom. And then your bedroom door had opened, just a crack and light had come flooding in.

"Are you awake?" he murmured, eyes watching your unmoving form under the covers. "I think I figured out why you were mad at me-"

"I'm not mad at you, Jim. Go back to sleep."

"You are mad," he pressed on. "I can hear it in your voice. You think I'm an asshole."

You let out a sharp scoff. "You are an asshole; that doesn't mean I'm mad at you."

"Is it because I didn't invite you to dinner?" he hummed. "Because if it is, I just thought you wouldn't want to come. We were just going to spend the entire time talking about Will-"

"You don't have to explain why you didn't invite me on your date with Joyce-"

"Date?" He moved a little further into the room, crouching down at the side of your bed so that you had no choice but to look at him. "Sweetheart, it wasn't a date. I care about Joyce, but it isn't like that. She wanted to talk about Will and I needed some advice on El. It was completely platonic."

You swallowed down the lump in your throat. "Okay."

"Is that why you were mad? You thought I was taking Joyce out on a date?" He paused when you didn't answer, a small smile pulling at his lips. "Sweetheart, I thought I'd made it pretty clear that there was only one woman I wanted in that way."

Your brow furrowed slightly, your head still resting against the pillows, and you looked so damn sweet that Jim couldn't help the soft chuckle that slipped out of him. 

"See, you're always so good to me and you don't even realise that I'm trying to be good back," he breathed out. "I'm trying to be good for you."

"For me?" 

He nodded. "I love you, Sweetheart, but I knew I wasn't ready to jump into a relationship, not with El still settling in at home. And I know you don't do the whole hook-up thing, so I've been taking it slow. I don't want to rush you-"

"Oh," you breathed out, a small smile pulling at your lips. "I thought you just didn't like me-"

"Jesus, I'd have to be a total idiot to not like you." He paused for a moment. "You know, El is pretty settled now. And I've got tomorrow night off work if you wanted me to take you on an actual date."

You nodded. 

"Perfect," he hummed. "Although, If I don't go to sleep soon, I may be a little out of sorts on our date-" he uttered, pushing up to his feet with a soft groan. "I'll see you in the morning, Sweetheart-"

"Wait," you breathed out, sitting up a little bit to catch his eye. "You can stay in here. You'll end up with a bad back if you're all hunched up on the couch, and then the date'll be a total dud," you murmured, offering him a sweet smile. "Just no funny business, alright?"

"Swear on my life," he started, moving to crawl into bed beside you, a grin pulling at his lips as you tucked yourself into his side. "You don't snore or anything, do you?"

"Go to sleep, Jim."

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