Chapter Sixty-Six: Happy

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Just another short bonus chapter! Hope you enjoy it!

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I woke up to sunlight gleaming through the windows. 

I rolled over onto my back to escape the brightness of it, looking up at the ceiling to find that it was unfamiliar. For a brief second, I forgot where I was until I turned my head and saw Steve, fast asleep beside me. I turned on my side to face him. He was sleeping on his stomach with his face turned towards me. I noted how relaxed and calm he looked and I smiled, gently brushing his hair out of his face before getting up and walking into the kitchen.

I opened the boxes of kitchen stuff, pulling out pans and beginning to cook eggs and bacon for breakfast. I tried not to think about all the times I'd done this exact thing for El and Dad, but I really couldn't help it.

Luckily, I was drawn away from my thoughts by a pair of arms wrapping around my waist, hugging me from behind. I smiled, leaning back against his bare chest.

"Hugging me from behind while I cook breakfast? You really are a walking cliché aren't you?" I asked, flipping the bacon over in the pan.

"Mhm." He said groggily, pressing his lips against the side of my neck. I paused, my eyes fluttering closed of their own accord, but I forced them open again.

"You know...distracting me in front of a pan full of boiling grease is probably a bad idea." He responded to this by reaching over and turning the burner off. "Steve! I'm trying to make break-"

He cut me off by spinning me around to face him, picking me up and setting me down on the counter. He put his hands on either side of me, leaning away from the counter and smiling lazily at me, his hair a matted mess on top of his head.

"There. Problem solved." He said, leaning closer to me.

"Um, no. Not problem solved. I'm hungry, and I want food." I went to get off of the counter but he stopped me by stepping closer to me, now standing in between my legs. He reached up, tucking my hair behind my ear.

"Can I help you?" I asked, reaching up and pushing his hair back with one hand.

"Good morning." He answered. "Although, I would've preferred to say that in bed...waking up next to you."

"Yeah well, I was hungry, and if I waited for you, we would be in bed all day." He leaned forward, pressing his lips to the side of my neck again before putting his mouth right beside my ear.

"You say that like its a bad thing." My eyes widened as he pressed a slow kiss to the space just below my ear. My eyes closed once again as he continued down the side of my neck, putting his his hands on my face and using his thumbs to push my chin upwards for better access. I put my hands on his shoulders, feeling his warm, smooth skin on my palms as my breathing began to escalate.

Steve paused, his lips still against my neck as the phone rang. He pulled away, hanging his head and I smiled at him, pressing a brief kiss to his lips before getting off of the counter and walking over to the phone.

"Hopper-Harrington residence." I answered, turning to smile at him over my shoulder. He jumped up onto the counter now, his hands braced on the counter beside him.

"Riley?" My playful smile fell when the oh-so-familiar voice came through the receiver.

"El! Hi, kid!" I said excitedly, glancing up at Steve. He smiled. "Man, its nice to hear your voice."

"Yours too," She said. "I miss you."

"Yeah, I miss you too," I replied, pulling out a kitchen chair and sitting down, "You have no idea how much."

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El and I talked for about an hour before she decided she had better call Mike. We said goodbye and I hung up, smiling at the floor before looking up at Steve, who hadn't moved from his spot on the counter.

"Sorry...we were kind of in the middle of something." I said. He shook his head, a smile plastered onto his face.  "What?" He shook his head again. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Because, you look...happy." He stated, raking a hand through his hair. "I haven't seen that for a little while." My smile fell, and suddenly I felt extremely guilty. "No, Barbie don't do that. That's not-"

"You know I'm happy with this arrangement, right?" I said, gesturing between us as I came to stand in front of him. "You make me happy too. If I made you feel like you don't-"

"You didn't," He said, putting his hands on my face, once again pushing my chin up with his thumbs so that I was looking up at him, "But at the same time, I know there's only so much I can do. I mean, I can't just make your pain go away, as much as I wish that I could. But if talking to El makes you feel at least a little better, than I'm all for it. I just like seeing you happy again, so it doesn't really matter to me how you get there." I smiled before glancing over at the half cooked food on the stove top. 

"That is such a waste of food." He shrugged.

"Yeah, but...it means we can go out for breakfast." I shook my head, rolling my eyes in amusement.